Born in 1946, Dr. Helmut Panke was trained as a nuclear engineer. He has held positions of increasing responsibility with the BMW Group, worked closely with the past two BMW CEO's.

From 1990 to 1993, he was in charge of Corporate Strategy and Coordination.

In 1993, he was named Chairman and CEO of the BMW US Holding Corporation, a position he held for two years.

He returned to Munich in 1995 with his appointment as Executive Director of BMW AG.

From 1996 to 1999, Dr. Panke was the Member of the Board of Management in charge of Personnel and Information Technology.

Since 18 March 1999, he has been the Member of the Board of Management responsible for Finance and Business Management.

Since returning to Munich in 1995, he has worked closely with the two past BMW CEO's Bernd Pischetsrieder and Professor Joachim Milberg.

Dr. Helmut Panke will became Chairman of the Board of Management upon the expiration of the Annual General Meeting on 16 May 2002, succeeding Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Milberg.

One of Dr. Panke's strongest characteristics is his optimism. During the darkest days of the Rover controversy, he concluded "I would say that we have never been as strong as we are right now."

As director of corporate planning, Dr. Panke played a key role in the building of the first BMW plant in the USA in Spartanburg, South Carolina.