Bosch replaces CEO Stefan Hartung with deputy Christian Fischer in abrupt leadership change

Abrupt departure

On Friday, the world's largest car parts supplier announced that Stefan Hartung (60) would leave the management board at the end of June at his own request. The move surprised observers because Hartung's contract had been renewed in October 2025, a five-year extension that would have kept him in the role until 2031. He led the foundation-owned company since January 2022 and joined the management board in 2013. The company said the handover was agreed in close consultation with shareholders and the supervisory board.

“The shareholders and the supervisory board regret Stefan Hartung's decision and expressly thank him for his great merits in steering the company prudently through an exceptionally challenging phase.”

Crisis at the world's largest supplier

Hartung's tenure coincided with a severe downturn for Bosch. In 2025 the company posted a net loss of 363 million euros, its first since 2009, burdened by 2.7 billion euros in restructuring provisions, US tariffs and tax effects. Revenue edged up to 91 billion euros but fell short of internal targets. Management is targeting revenue growth of 2 to 5 percent this year. The auto supply division is struggling with the slow transition to electric mobility, weak demand and high costs, while consumers are postponing purchases of household appliances and power tools.

Bosch said it was no longer competitive in many areas and had started cutting up to 22,000 jobs in the supplier unit alone, with further reductions planned at the household appliance subsidiary BSH and the power tools division.

Fischer takes over

Christian Fischer (58), currently deputy CEO and head of the consumer goods division, will assume the chairmanship on July 1. He started at Bosch as a trainee in 1996, gained experience at Roland Berger and other firms, and returned to the management board in 2018. As Hartung's deputy, he helped shape the group's strategy and led the 7.4 billion-euro acquisition of Johnson Controls' and Hitachi's ventilation and air-conditioning business, the largest deal in Bosch's history.

“Christian Fischer has proven in recent years that he thinks strategically, acts entrepreneurially and leads with vision.”

The supervisory board signalled that Fischer would push forward with the current strategy. Two deputies will support him: CFO Markus Forscher and Markus Heyn, head of the supplier division.