Press and News - 15.12.2000

Edzard Reuter appointed Chairman of the u-blox Board

At 72 years, Edzard Reuter is still ready for new challenges: per December 15, this former chairman of Daimler-Benz AG will take over as board chairman of the Swiss high-tech company u-blox ag. Reuter succeeds Prof. Dr. Gerhard Tröster, who will be devoting most of his time again to his teaching and research activities at Zurich Federal Institute of Technology (ETH).

With Edzard Reuter as chairman, this Swiss technology firm can look forward to a powerful impetus in developing and implementing its international growth strategy. In contrast to German companies, the board of directors of a Swiss joint stock company has a management function. It appoints and supervises the managing director, with whom it is jointly responsible for main strategic decision-making.

The new chairman of the u-blox board has set himself the target of expanding the market position of this high-tech company not only in the automobile industry, but also in all other appropriate sectors.

Based on his long-standing experience and market expertise, Edzard Reuter will work out strategic plans for the company and its product development to ensure the ongoing growth of u-blox in this highly competitive market. Among other applications, Reuter sees excellent growth potential for GPS subsystems in the recording of vehicle movements, for example as a basis for road tax assessment. Reuter is well known for his technological intuition, and for his open-minded approach to technical innovations.

Born in Berlin on February 16, 1928, Reuter studied mathematics, physics and law in Göttingen and Berlin. He then held various management positions with German companies before joining Daimler-Benz in 1964. In 1976 he was appointed as board member with responsibility for business planning and organisation, and also for technical planning as of 1977. Ten years later he was elected chairman of the board, a position which he retained until his retirement in 1995.

Reuter combines his tasks as chairman of the u-blox-board with many other functions. He is honorary chairman of the board of the Bankgesellschaft Berlin, member of the Conseil d'Administration of Air Liquide, Paris, and member of the international board commission of Chase Manhattan Bank, New York. He is also a governor of the Ernst Reuter Science Foundation, Berlin, and a curator of the German National Foundation, Weimar. Furthermore, he is curatorium director of the Aspen Institute, Berlin and a board member in several cultural promotion organizations. In May 1998 he was made an honorary citizen of Berlin.

About u-blox

Founded in 1997 as an ETH Zurich spin-off, the electronics company u-blox develops integrated circuits for GPS modules embedded in electronics systems for the automobile industry and consumer articles. The GPS global positioning system enables precise location within a few metres anywhere in the world by using satellite signals as a reference. u-blox is already well established on the market as a manufacturer of high-performance GPS receivers with low power consumption. These are installed for example in car navigation systems. u-blox was founded by the current management team Daniel Amman, Claus Habiger, Andreas Thiel, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Tröster and Jean-Pierre Wyss. The company now has 25 employees, most of whom are development engineers, and sales for this year are expected to reach 20 million DM. u-blox plans to double its sales and human resources next year.

Further information