Norbert Reithofer
CEO, BMW
BMW overtook Mercedes-Benz last year as the car industry's top-selling premium brand. In keeping with BMW's unwritten age limit of 60, production boss Reithofer will replace CEO Helmut Panke on Sept. 1, the day after Panke's 60th birthday. Reithofer obviously has a tough act to follow, since the company expects to top its 2004 record net profit of $2.7 billion. Reithofer has been the keeper of BMW's flexible production system, considered a model for the car industry. The former head of BMW's South Carolina plant, he is more than familiar with the U.S. market, and he has...