At its meeting on Sept. 25, 2025, the MAHLE supervisory board elected Dr. Michael Macht as its new chairman. Effective Jan. 1, 2026, he is to succeed Professor Dr.-Ing. Heinz K. Junker, who is resigning from his position after 10 years and leaving the supervisory board at the end of the year. Macht has been a member of the supervisory board of MAHLE since 2020.
“It has been a great honor for me to serve MAHLE for almost three decades, first as CEO and then as supervisory board chairman. Following the successful reorganization, I see the group well-positioned for the future with its strategy MAHLE 2030+ and a clearly defined product portfolio,” said Junker. “I would like to thank the entire workforce, the management board and my direct colleagues for the trust they have placed in me for many years and to wish the company a good future in challenging times. I would also like to thank my successor, Dr. Michael Macht, for his willingness to take over as chairman and wish him a sure hand in the performance of this demanding task.”
Macht’s Career in the Automotive Industry
Macht has a proven track record in the automotive industry. Born in Stuttgart, he is a mechanical engineer with a degree from Stuttgart University. Macht started his career with Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG in 1991 and held various positions with Porsche and Porsche Consulting before becoming a member of the board of management of Porsche AG in 1998 and CEO in 2009. From 2009-14, he was a member of the board of management of Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg. He has been prepared for his new role at MAHLE by Junker over the past few months within the framework of a planned succession process, company officials stated in a press release.
“On behalf of the entire MAHLE Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Prof. Heinz K. Junker and to express my sincere appreciation for his work as chairman. In his many years as chairman, he has guided the supervisory board through demanding phases with considerable commitment and expertise and a calm hand, laying the foundations for the future-oriented development of the company,” said Macht. “He has my best wishes for the future.”
Junker’s Impact on MAHLE’s Success
Following his degree and doctorate at RWTH Aachen University, Junker started his career with MAHLE in 1996 as a member of the management board, becoming CEO about six months later and holding this position until 2015. During this time, he developed MAHLE into a global technology group, with a more than eightfold increase in sales to €11.5 billion ($13.4 billion)—not least thanks to his intensive development work and the expansion of the product portfolio far beyond the classical piston, officials said.
He is also responsible for the largest M+A transaction in the history of MAHLE, the acquisition of the former Behr Group, which has now been fully completed. Through this takeover, he strengthened the strategically important thermal management business of the group. The Thermal and Fluid Systems Business Unit now accounts for more than 50% of consolidated sales.
According to MAHLE, Junker was instrumental in his role as supervisory board chairman in developing the current group strategy MAHLE 2030+ with the future-oriented fields of electrification, thermal management and sustainable internal combustion engines, the reorientation of the product portfolio and the recently completed reorganization of the group.
“Prof. Heinz K. Junker, who is now leaving MAHLE, is a personality who has been closely connected with this company. On behalf of the MAHLE workforce and the management board, I would like to thank him for his extraordinary passion and the dedication with which he has shaped our company over three decades. With farsightedness and untiring commitment, he has made a key contribution to the success of MAHLE and most recently guided the company through its transformation with extreme care,” said Arnd Franz, chairman of the group management board and CEO. “I would like to thank him for his close cooperation and his confidence in our Management Board. Even in challenging times, we could always rely on his expertise and support. For his future, he has the sincere best wishes of the entire MAHLE team.”