Katja Garcia Vila, chief financial officer of Continental, has informed the company’s Supervisory Board that she will not be seeking another term on the Executive Board after her contract expires in December 2024.
Garcia Vila was first appointed to the Executive Board in December 2021 and since then has been responsible for Group Finance and Controlling as well as Group IT. She will continue in her role until a successor is appointed.
“I’ve felt deeply connected to the people at Continental and the company for 27 years. My decision to continue my career elsewhere won’t change that. I’m immensely grateful for the time I’ve spent at Continental. Over the past few years, we have laid the foundation for the company’s future success. The improvement in earnings in fiscal 2023 is just one example of this. Continental is well positioned for the future,” said Garcia Vila.
“The entire Supervisory Board respects Katja Garcia Vila’s decision and at the same time is extremely sorry to see her leave. She has helped to improve Continental’s financial results, particularly in the Automotive group sector, and increase Continental’s overall financial strength, putting Continental one step closer to its mid-term targets. On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to sincerely thank Katja Garcia Vila for her outstanding achievements at Continental and wish her all the best,” said Prof. Wolfgang Reitzle, chairman of Continental’s Supervisory Board.
Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer: “The entire Executive Board team deeply regrets the departure of Katja Garcia Vila. Over the past few challenging years, we have worked closely together to realign our organization and increase our resilience. Katja Garcia Vila played a key role in developing the company’s strategy for realignment and launching it over the past year, thus laying the foundation for our successful future. I’m convinced we will continue our excellent collaboration until her departure, and I will continue to maintain close ties to her personally.”
Katja Garcia Vila began her professional career at Continental in 1997. A graduate in business administration, she held various positions in IT, marketing, sales, logistics, auditing and purchasing before taking over as head of Systems & Standards in the corporate finance department in 2008, followed by head of Group Audit worldwide in 2013. In 2018, she moved to the ContiTech business area as head of Finance, Controlling and IT. In December 2021, Garcia Vila was appointed to the Continental Executive Board as chief financial officer. From the beginning of 2022 until the end of April 2023, she was also responsible for Finance and Controlling in the Automotive group sector.
