Oliver Zipse, CEO of German automotive giant BMW, visited the U last month, delivering a lecture to students from the Price College of Engineering, Eccles School of Business, and the College of Science.
The standing-room-only event was not the CEO’s first time on campus. Zipse began his engineering education at the U; he was a student from 1983 to 1985, studying mathematics and computer science. After those two years, he returned to Germany to study mechanical engineering at the Technische Universität Darmstadt. Upon graduating, he began working at BMW in 1991, climbing the corporate ladder all the way to Chairman of the Board in 2019.
In his lecture, titled “The BMW Way – Strategic Approaches for a True Global Automotive Company,” Zipse emphasized the company’s commitment to adaptability and forward-looking vision. With a worldwide transition away from fossil fuels already well underway, Zipse related his company’s century-plus history of innovation to the sorts of revolutionary changes that are on the horizon for all automotive companies, as well as the need for continual improvement and reinvention to keep up with these trends.
Beyond electrifying its fleet of vehicles, BMW’s vision also includes a larger commitment to sustainability in all facets of manufacturing, from material sourcing to recycling.
After the lecture, Zipse spent time speaking with students and sharing career advice. He also toured the U’s Nanofab, also located in the Sorensen building, where his lecture took place.