Sauber gives CEO Kaltenborn a stake in F1 team
Swiss founder and owner of Sauber, Peter Sauber (L), with driver Kamui Kobayashi in Valencia in this file photo. Sauber has given CEO Monisha Kaltenborn a stake in the F1 team. – Reuters picLONDON, May 16 – The Swiss founder and owner of Sauber has given the Formula One team’s chief executive a third of the company to ensure she stays on to lead it after he retires.
Peter Sauber, 68, transferred the stake to Indian-born CEO Monisha Kaltenborn at the end of last year but the agreement was only made public today.
Sauber has designated Kaltenborn, an Austrian national, to succeed him as team principal when he does retire, although he has not set a date for his departure.
“When BMW pulled out of Formula One in 2009, Monisha Kaltenborn was instrumental in the team’s survival and since then she has been doing outstanding work in her capacity as CEO,” Sauber said in a statement.
“My desire is to ensure that the company continues to be led as I would want over the long term,” he added.
Sauber bought back control of the business when German car maker BMW, which owned an 80 per cent stake, dropped out of the sport.
The logo of Champions League finalists Chelsea is now on Sauber cars after they agreed a partnership last month.
Sauber drivers Sergio Perez of Mexico and Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi have picked up 41 points this season to put the team in seventh in Formula One’s constructor standings. – Reuters
