Sometimes it is not an executive's own statements that put him in the spotlight. Bosch Managing Director Stefan Hartung recently received unexpected attention because outgoing Deutsche Börse CEO Theodor Weimer used him as a case study in a speech – in very clear terms. In the speech given in mid-April, but which only became more widely publicised a week ago, Weimer first expressed outrage that the automotive industry had been forced „into the wrong corner“ by CO2 regulations. „And now Bosch is weeping!", he said. "Now my friend Stefan Hartung, head of Bosch, is weeping.“

In spite of this, the Bosch CEO made a good-humoured impression during his visit to the International Club of Frankfurt Business Journalists on 11 June. When asked about Weimer's speech, he was tight-lipped, indicating that the Deutsche Börse boss was the right person to be asked about its content. Hartung says that he hasn't spoken to Weimer for some time, adding that „I don't know where he saw me weeping.“

Hartung assumes that combustion engines will still be around for several decades to come – a topic that Weimer also addresses. Unlike the Deutsche Börse CEO, who uses the word „junk shop“, the Bosch CEO remains positive about Germany as a place to do business. „I stand by the location,“ he emphasises. There are challenges, for example in the area of infrastructure. On the other hand, he views the training landscape in a positive light. Thus while there are some critical issues, the location is worth the effort to solve them.

The 58-year-old says that he is viewed as optimistic, which is typical „for consumer people“. The father of two took his first steps in the consumer business in 2004 at „Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH“ (BSH). Following on from prior positions at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the management consultancy McKinsey, Hartung initially became head of product marketing for dishwashers at BSH. He later took on management positions in the Power Tools division – even today, he can still talk credibly about the fact that buying a power drill can be an emotional experience. Hartung became Managing Director in 2013 and Chairman of the Management Board in 2022. Today, he is responsible for more than 90 billion euros in sales at the group. Almost 430,000 people work for Bosch worldwide, 90,000 of them in research and development.

Hartung writes on the career network Linkedin that he wanted to be an engineer for as long as he can remember. Born in Dortmund, and a BVB fan, he did eventually study mechanical engineering, specialising in production technology at RWTH Aachen University, where he also completed his doctorate in 1993. He has set Bosch a target return of at least 7%. Restructuring is taking place, packaged in management style as a „growth and performance enhancement programme“. This is accompanied by job cuts in the four-digit range. This is not a programme accompanied by applause, Hartung admits. But transformation is hard work. „Change is easy to talk about, but hard to do," he said.

The group is owned by a charitable foundation, and has no ambitions to become a listed company, Hartung stresses. However, capital markets expertise is still essential. Bosch is present on the bond market via a billion-euro programme. The Swabian company also sees individual unit IPOs as an option. Financial resources from such transactions could be channelled into acquisitions, for example in the USA. In Hartung's opinion, the USA is currently still underrepresented in the Bosch portfolio.