On July 1st, Michel Favre took over from Dr. Rolf Breidenbach as new CEO of HELLA. In a letter to the employees worldwide, he introduces himself personally.

Monday 2022-07-04

Dear Colleagues,

Last week, an era came to an end: HELLA CEO Dr. Rolf Breidenbachleft the company after more than 18 years in office. Together with you, he has shaped the company and made HELLA what it is today: a healthy, very well-positioned automotive supplier that covers essential market trends and has the best prerequisites for the future. It is therefore a great honour for me to have taken over the office of CEO at HELLA on July 1st and now to continue the company's successful course together with you and my colleagues on the HELLA Management Board.

Consequently, it is also very important to me to introduce myself to you personally. My name is Michel Favre, I am French by birth, 63 years old, married and father of two children. Before joining HELLA, I was Chief Financial Officer at Faurecia. I had held this office since 2013, prior to which I had worked in the same capacity for other companies. I also spent 13 years in various specialist and management positions at the automotive supplier Valeo, where I was responsible for the lighting business, among other things.

As you can see, my heart beats for the automotive industry. I have always perceived HELLA as an innovative, high-tech company. During the closing of ranks with Faurecia, this impression has been further confirmed. In the past weeks and months, I had the chance to get to know HELLA much more intensively in its various dimensions: from individual employees to diverse technologies and projects to selected products and locations.

What I saw not only inspired me, but also gave me confidence, especially in view of the challenges ahead. Because many things around us have begun to falter: The transformation of the automotive industry is progressing inexorably. The Corona pandemic continues to affect us; in the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai, the weeks-long, strict shutdown has only just been eased. And there is a terrible war going on in Europe. Inflation is accelerating rapidly; interruptions in gas supply can no longer be ruled out. At this point in time, no one can reliably predict what consequences this may have for the economy and for us at HELLA.

This makes it all the more important to know that there is a strong team behind HELLA that has an enormous wealth of experience and is capable of exceptional performance. I am very happy to be part of this team now and will surely learn more in the days and weeks to come. Above all, I will also use the time to enter into more in-depth discussions with you - whether in person, by e-mail, via the intranet or at townhall meetings. Of course, you can also still use the established "Ask the CEO" portal on the intranetto get in touch with me. Or simply send me an e-mail.

Having said this, I would like to thank you for your support and look forward to a successful cooperation.

Kind regards
Michel Favre