Sauber F1 CEO Gets Part Ownership of the Team

Formula One team Sauber have announced today that CEO Monisha Kaltenborn will be a part owner of the team owning one-third of the team.

Peter Sauber, Team Principal of the Swiss-based outfit, said that Kaltenborn, 41, had received the stake in the Sauber Group “in the interests of continuity”.

“When BMW pulled out of Formula One in 2009, Monisha Kaltenborn was instrumental in the team’s survival and since then she has been doing outstanding work in her capacity as CEO,” Sauber said.

“Transferring one third of the stake to her represents an important step for me in providing continuity. My desire is to ensure that the company continues to be led as I would want over the long term.

“Monisha Kaltenborn and my son Alex, who joined the company as Marketing Director in 2010 and has since also been a member of the Board of Management, both embrace this aim. It means we can offer our employees a positive outlook for the future.”

Sauber, who is also President of the Board of Directors of all Sauber Group companies, will retain the remaining two-thirds share.

He reacquired ownership of the team following BMW’s decision to withdraw from the sport midway through the 2009 season.

That decision left their future in jeopardy for several months. However, Sauber regained their place on the F1 grid after Toyota subsequently announced that it was withdrawing its team.

Kaltenborn, who joined Sauber as head of their legal department in 2000, added: “For me this step is a mark of the greatest possible trust, which I will do everything in my power to justify.”