At its meeting in Hanover, Germany, the Supervisory Board of Continental AG appointed Roland Welzbacher to the Executive Board. The appointment becomes effective Aug. 1, 2025. Welzbacher will succeed Olaf Schick, who requested early termination of his contract in December, 2024.
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The Supervisory Board approved Schick’s request at its Dec. 18, 2024 meeting. Roland Welzbacher, the new CFO of Continental AG, will assume the CFO position from Schick on Oct. 1, 2025, following a transition period.
Continued Role in Tires Group Sector
Welzbacher will continue managing the Finance and Controlling function in the Tires group sector. He has led that function since 2023. The company will announce the new structure and allocation of Schick’s Executive Board responsibilities at a later date. These include Finance, Integrity and Law.
After Continental spins off the ContiTech group sector, Welzbacher will retain his Executive Board role. The Board will then concentrate on Continental AG’s tire business. Roland Welzbacher, the new CFO of Continental AG, will help guide that shift.
Olaf Schick to Join Mercedes-Benz
Schick will step down on Sept. 30, 2025, after the spin-off of the Automotive group sector. He will join the board of management at Mercedes-Benz Group AG starting Oct.1, 2025.
Endorsements from Leadership
“In Roland Welzbacher, we have appointed an extremely experienced manager to the Executive Board with strong ties to the company. He is an excellent choice for the position of CFO, given the planned independence of the ContiTech group sector and the future focus of Continental AG as a tire company,” said Wolfgang Reitzle, chairman of Continental’s Supervisory Board.
“Roland Welzbacher is an outstanding leader with whom I have worked closely for many years. His extensive international experience in the tire sector and deep expertise in finance as well as mergers and acquisitions make him exceptionally well suited to help shape Continental’s realignment as CFO. I look forward to continuing our collaboration on the Executive Board,” said Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer.
Roland Welzbacher’s Background
Welzbacher has worked at Continental for 22 years. He has held various leadership roles in the tire business. His past positions include CEO of Semperit Reifen GmbH and head of tire replacement for OEMs and international fleets. He also led the tire-replacement business in Southern Europe.
Before Continental, he worked in mergers and acquisitions at Hypo Consult GmbH in Munich.
