Supervisory Board

The Supervisory Board of the Magirus Group reflect the international nature of its business activities - a high-caliber body whose knowledge and influence is called upon in particular in consolidating our global presence.

Members of the Supervisory Board

Gerhard Roth
Bern, Switzerland, Chairman

Gerhard Roth, attorney at law, graduated as a lawyer at the University of Bern in 1992. He was a member of the legal and tax department of a leading international accounting and professional services firm in Bern and Zurich from 1992 until 1994 before joining GHR Rechtsanwälte AG as an associate in 1994. In 1996 he became managing partner of GHR. He specializes in mergers and acquisitions, national and international tax law, company law and corporate governance, restructuring and bankruptcy law. Since 1997 he is a member of the Supervisory Board of Magirus AG, since 19 July 2006 as its Chairman.

Ali M.T. Al Ghanim Dipl.-Ing.
Safat, Kuwait, Deputy Chairman

After completing his mechanical engineering studies at the Technischen Universität Hanover, Ali M.T. Alghanim Dipl.-Ing began his professional career. He has been Group Chairman of Ali Alghanim & Sons since 1961. In Kuwait he has held important posts in major enterprises and associations. From 1971 to 1975 he was a member of the National Assembly and he now sits as President of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In Europe his positions include member of the Supervisory Board for Helarb Management, Switzerland and Chairman of Michael Weinig International AG, Germany.  Ali M.T. Alghanim has been on the Supervisory Board of Magirus AG since 1997 and is a shareholder in the company.

Arthur Rhein
Boca Raton, Florida, USA, Member

Arthur Rhein had been Chairman, President and CEO of Agilysys Inc. (formerly Pioneer Standard Inc.), one of the leading wholesalers and resellers of computer technology solutions for the enterprise market. He joined Pioneer Standard in 1981with the acquisition of his previous employer, where he acted as Vice President of Marketing. Until his appointment as Senior Vice President of Marketing in 1986 he acted as Vice President for the north-east region there. In 1990 he was appointed to the Board of Directors, and in 1991 his responsibilities were extended to cover Sales. From 1997 he held the post of President and Chief Operating Officer. He was elected Chairman with effect from 30 April 2003. In October 2008 he left his position at Agilysys and retired. Arthur Rhein has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Magirus AG since 2000.

Alexandra Ischler von Kuenheim
Berlin, Germany, Member

After studying history at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Alexandra Ischler von Kuenheim began her professional career in 1989 as a market analyst at Siemens AG in Munich. From 1991 she was Project Head for assessment and analysis of cooperation and acquisition projects. In 1996 she moved to the group's Investor Relations department and took over management of the department in 1998. In this period she shared responsibility for the IPOs of the Siemens' subsidiaries Infineon Technologies AG and Epcos AG as well as for the listing of Siemens AG on the New York Stock Exchange. From 2003 to 2005 she worked as a consultant for capital market communications and investor relations for the PR company Citigate Dewe Rogerson. In 2005 she moved to Lilja & Co. AG, Zurich - a company specializing in independent capital market-related advice for businesses, in particular for IPOs. Here she handled the IPO for Wacker Chemie AG, Munich, amongst others. In 2006 she became a partner at Lilja & Co. From January till September 2009 she worked as independent consultant for corporate financing and capital market topics. Since 1st October 2009 she is Managing Director of IEG (Deutschland) in Berlin. Alexandra Ischler von Kuenheim has been on the Supervisory Board of Magirus AG since 1997 and is a shareholder in the company.

Dr. Henrich Heitmann
Walldürn, Germany, Member

Having studied law and gained a doctorate, Dr. Henrich Heitmann worked as an attorney in Frankfurt. He joined VOLVO Germany as in-house counsel and in 1979 went to VOLVO FAREAST in Singapore as CFO. In 1983 he took on the management of VOLVO business in South-East Asia. In 1985 he built up the Singapore office for BMW and subsequently took responsibility for various sales functions at BMW working out of Munich. From 1997 to 1999 he was CEO of the American BMW organisation, subsequently becoming board member with responsibilities for Sales and Marketing of BMW AG. Dr. Heitmann has practised as an attorney in Walldürn since 2001 and holds several supervisory board mandates in medium-sized enterprises. Dr. Heitmann has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Magirus AG since 2008.

Ernst Freiherr von Freyberg,
Frankfurt, Germany, Member

Ernst Freiherr von Freyberg is the CEO of DC Advisory Partners GmbH (former Close Brothers GmbH), a corporate finance advisory firm he co-founded in 1991. Prior to that he worked for Three Cities Research, a private equity firm in New York. Ernst von Freyberg read law at the universities of Munich and Bonn. He was admitted to the bar in 1988. He is a member of a number of supervisory boards including Magirus AG, Flossbach & von Storch AG and Deutsche Malteser gGmbH.

Dr.-Ing. Eberhard von Kuenheim,
Munich, Germany, Honorary Chairman

Dr.-Ing. Eberhard von Kuenheim began his career in 1954 as an engineer with Max Müller (now Gildemeister AG) in Hanover, assuming various leading positions there. In 1965 he moved to the Quandt Group as executive manager and deputy chairman of the IWKA's Board of Management. Since 1970 he has run the car manufacturer BMW AG, initially as Chairman of the Board of Management (CEO), and from 1993 to 1999 as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Since 1997 he has been Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Magirus and since 1999 also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Eberhard von Kuenheim Stiftung, a BMW AG foundation. In addition he has held and still holds several high-ranking managerial posts: e.g. as Vice-President of the Max Planck Society, as member of the Supervisory Board in various companies – incl. with the reinsurers Munich Re and the Bayrische Vereinsbank – as well as on the executive committees of industrial confederations. Dr.-Ing. Eberhard von Kuenheim is Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Magirus AG.