Helmut Panke

In 1972, Panke graduated from LMU Munich in physics, having started his studies in 1968, and received his Ph.D. in 1976.

Prior to his studies, during the period from 1964 to 1965, Panke was an AFS Exchange Student to the United States.

After the award of the doctorate degree in nuclear physics, Panke joined the Swiss Institute for Nuclear Research.

From 1976 to 1978, Panke was a researcher at the Swiss Institute for Nuclear Research and a lecturer at LMU Munich.

From 1978 to 1982, he was a consultant with McKinsey & Company. In 1982, he started at BMW as a head of planning and control of the research and development division, before assuming management functions in 1985.

He later said that his attraction to the company was based on the reputation it had for encouraging creativity and independence among its staff.

Over the next 20 years, Panke worked his way up through the company, working in nearly every department: he served as the chairman of the management board at BMW (UK) Capital PLC, and as chairman and CEO of BMW (US) Holding Corporation from 1993 to 1996, he managed the US manufacturing facility that was responsible for building, as well as corporate planning, organisation, staff, IT, finance and sales. From 1996 to 1999, his tasks focused on Human Resources and Information Technology. From 1999 to 2002, he served as a member of the board of management responsible for finance.

In 2002, Panke succeeded Joachim Milberg to become the chairman of BMW after Milberg's resignation for health reasons.

During his tenure from May 16, 2002 until September 1, 2006, he was credited with leading the company’s internationalization and his refusal to move the company into the lower priced mass market.