From May 2012 to August 2017, Ludwig Willisch was Head of the Americas Region for the BMW Group. He assumed that position in addition to being the President and CEO of BMW North America LLC; President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of BMW (US) Holding Corp.; as well as Director of Designworks USA Inc. The latter positions Mr. Willisch assumed on October 1, 2011.
Mr. Willisch is also Vice Chairman of the German American Chamber of Commerce and has been a member of the Manufacturing Council of the United States Secretary of Commerce.
Before arriving in the United States, Mr. Willisch was in charge of BMW Group’s European Sales Region. Prior to 2009, he served as President of BMW M GmbH, the specialized performance division of BMW. In that position he was part of the R&D management team of BMW AG. His responsibilities at the time were development, production, and sales of BMW M automobiles.
Beginning in 1996, Mr. Willisch held various executive positions for BMW Group in Sweden, Japan, and Germany. He holds a degree in economics from University of Cologne. He is a non-executive Board member of HYDAC Technology Corp, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.