IPG Automotive has announced the retirement of Dr Alexander Schmidt, one of its founding members. He will hand the reins to his son, Steffen Schmidt, who has formed part of the management team at the Karlsruhe, Germany-based simulation solution provider since 2013. Steffen Schmidt will be sole managing director.
Even though he will no longer be active on the operational side of the business, Schmidt senior says he will keep in very close contact with the company.
“Consistency and stability are very important to us,” said Schmidt, shortly before his retirement. “As a family business, those are two things we pay particular attention to, and we are aware of the responsibility for our customers and employees that comes alongside this. The success and continuation of IPG Automotive have a special place in my heart and in my son Steffen’s, too, given that the company has always been so closely linked to our family.”
IPG Automotive was born from a project at the (now named) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in 1984. Today it is active globally, providing software and hardware solutions for virtual test driving.