Continental has appointed Gilles Mabire (49) as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Automotive Technologies group sector. Currently responsible for the Commercial Vehicles and Services business unit at Continental, he will assume the new role latest by January 1, 2022, succeeding Dr. Dirk Abendroth, who is leaving the company at his own request at the end of June 2021. Until Mabire takes up his post, Michael Hülsewies (48), head of Architecture and Software, will temporarily take over the management of the CTO organization. By the time Gilles Mabire assumes his new role, he will have completed key projects within the scope of the transformation process which he initiated in the Commercial Vehicles and Services business unit as well as Smart Mobility.

In his new position, Mabire will act as a central point of contact for customers and business partners for technology and innovation issues relating to the automotive business and at the same time will be a member of the Automotive Technologies Board. In this function, he will report to Nikolai Setzer as Chairman of the Automotive Technologies Board.

Other tasks of the CTO organization, comprising a total of 17,000 engineers worldwide, include the further development of processes, methods, and tools in research and development with a focus on embedded software, and the development of high-performance computers as an essential component of future vehicle architectures.

Gilles Mabire has 25 years of experience in the automotive industry in various functions. In addition to his work as a key account and project manager, the electronics and mechatronics graduate led the infotainment and connectivity business for European vehicle manufacturers in 2013 before assuming responsibility for the entire Continental automotive business in France in 2017. Since 2019, Mabire has been responsible for the global business of Continental’s Commercial Vehicles and Services business unit. His tasks here include the development of the strategic action field of Smart Mobility and the expansion of the service business within Automotive Technologies. As well as his many years of experience in global business with passenger car manufacturers, he provides additional impulses for the strategically important commercial vehicle customers and fleet business.