Christian Fischer becomes new chief executive of Bosch

Christian Fischer will take over as chairman of Bosch's management board on 1 July 2026, following the departure of Stefan Hartung. Markus Forschner and Markus Heyn will become deputy chairmen.

With his withdrawal from the executive management, Hartung is also leaving Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG. The holder of a doctorate in mechanical engineering has belonged to the management body of the Stuttgart company since 2013. Since 1 January 2022, he has been at the head of the executive management. Bosch paid tribute to Hartung's role in a demanding phase for the group. 

“As chairman of the executive management, in line with the mandate of our founder, he has purposefully continued the vigorous further development of Bosch. We respect Stefan Hartung's personal decision and wish him every success for his future", Stefan Asenkerschbaumer commented on the change in his capacity as chairman of the supervisory board of Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG  .

Christian Fischer takes over Bosch on 1 July

Christian Fischer will take over the succession with effect from 1 July 2026. The holder of a doctorate in economics has been a member of the Bosch board of management since 2018 and most recently was deputy chairman. In this function, he has already played a key role in shaping the company’s strategic development. 

His previous responsibilities included the Consumer Goods business sector, central growth initiatives, portfolio management and the development of top executives. Under his responsibility, the acquisition of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning business of Johnson Controls and Hitachi was also driven forward. Bosch described the transaction as the largest acquisition in the company’s history.

Carlos Chudek to lead operations at Bosch Mobility Americas; Christopher Prediger to steer computing solutions

Bosch Mobility has appointed Carlos Chudek to lead Americas operations including manufacturing and supply chain, as Hanns Bernd Ketteler retires. Christopher Prediger will lead cross-domain computing solutions, signalling a sharper focus on manufacturing strategy, software-defined vehicles and profitable regional growth.

With the change at the top, the technology group is also reorganising responsibilities within the board of management. Markus Forschner, the company’s chief financial officer since 2022, will become deputy chairman. The computer scientist and business economist has been working at Bosch since 1996. 

Markus Heyn will also assume the role of a deputy chairman. He has headed the Mobility business sector since 2022 and has been a member of the board of management since 2015. In the closer group leadership, he is to represent the technological perspective in future.

Transformation remains a central task

The personnel decisions come at a time when Bosch is continuing to adapt its business areas to changed market conditions. The group refers in this context to topics such as automation, digitalisation, electrification and artificial intelligence. 

For the future leadership, it will be crucial to combine the ongoing transformation processes with financial stability, technological development and long-term competitiveness. The new constellation in the management board is intended to continue this course from July.