After 25 years of service, Rolls Royce got a face lift. Torsten Mueller will take over as the new CEO of the BMW Group after years of Tom Purves’s reign.
During his 20-year stint with the company, Mueller has held various management positions in the Sales and Marketing Division. Mueller has also been an integral part of brand and product management for the MINI series from 2000 to 2003. Mueller is responsible for successfully re-launching the famous premium, small-car brand as the first of its kind in 2004.
Mueller has been running BMW global product management since April 2008, as well as parts of its after-sales business. Though he takes his new position as head honcho of the company after March 2010, he will still report to Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG that is responsible for Group Sales and Marketing, as well as the Chairman of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Of course, Robertson took the opportunity to thank Purves for the years of service to the auto giant. “Tom’s breadth of experience and successful track record over many years with the Group have proven extremely valuable to Rolls-Royce as the company moved through an important stage of its development,” Robertson said. “He has successfully overseen the launch of our new Ghost model series and hands over the helm of a company in excellent shape for the future; I wish him the very best for a well-deserved retirement.”
When asked about his tenure with the company, Purves had nothing but good things to say about it and his successor.
“It has been a privilege and an honour to lead Rolls-Royce, particularly at this exciting point in the company’s history; I have always felt a special connection with Rolls-Royce, having started my career in the car division and it is very special to be retiring having headed this great company,” Purves said. “I have every confidence in the future success of the company in the hands of its new CEO.”
Purves succeeded Robertson as CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in July 2008. Under his tenure, sales and market share more than doubled. He began his career in the automotive industry in 1966 as an apprentice engineer at Rolls-Royce in Crewe before joining BMW Group in 1985.
