Markus Kussmaul, executive director, Adient Specialty Seating, who is responsible for Recaro Performance Car Seating, has decided to leave Recaro to pursue other career opportunities. Effective Sept. 1, Martin Klein will lead Recaro Automotive Seating‘s branding and marketing activities as well as its passenger vehicle business.

Klein will assume new responsibilities at Recaro Automotive Seating and Recaro Performance Car Seating as vice president. Kussmaul will continue to serve the company until the end of September to ensure a smooth transition of leadership. Klein will take over responsibilities at Recaro Automotive Seating on Sept. 1, and will be based in Kirchheim/Teck, Germany.

“One year after successfully spinning off Adient as an independent automotive supplier from Johnson Controls, we will now engage in the next phase of developing Recaro Automotive Seating as the world’s leading brand of performance car seats with outstanding potentials in the passenger and commercial vehicle businesses,” said Ingo Fleischer, vice president, Adient Specialty Seating. “In particular, I want to thank Markus Kussmaul for his commitment and for his dedicated work on behalf of the company.”

Kussmaul worked for the companies Keiper and Recaro for 17 years. After joining the Keiper sales team in 2000, he served in different leadership positions until 2011. When Keiper and Recaro Automotive Seating became part of Johnson Controls in 2011, he led the U.S. business operations of Recaro Automotive Seating until 2014. From 2014 on, he held leadership positions at Recaro Commercial Vehicle Seating, global sales at Recaro Automotive Seating and later as head of Recaro Performance Car Seating.

Klein holds a university degree in economics and has more than 25 years of professional experience in the automotive business, both in the passenger car and commercial vehicle sectors. He has held various leadership positions at Daimler in Germany and the United States with particular expertise in marketing, branding and sales.