Schaeffler has named its finance chief Klaus Rosenfeld as its new interim chief executive following the departure of Juergen Geissinger.

Rosenfeld takes over the heavily indebted firm with immediate effect.

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Schaeffler said in a statement that the Supervisory Board had decided on the leadership change.

Geissinger was the architect behind an ambitious growth through acquisitions strategy that left the company heavily indebted after trying to take control of Continental – a move that was resisted by Continental’s board.

More recently, the company has been taking steps to reduce its debt.

See also: GERMANY: Schaeffler says debt down by EUR1.3bn

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