FRANKFURT -- Heinrich Baumann, the head of the German supplier Eberspaecher Group, has died unexpectedly, the company said in a statement.
The German national had a sudden cardiac event on Sept. 18 while hiking in the mountains near Tegernsee in southern Bavaria. He was 54.
Baumann's "high sense of responsibility, his prudence and foresight for the entire company as well as his social commitment are a model for us," the company's management team said following his death.
Baumann was the great-great grandson of Eberspaecher's founder. He studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Munich from 1988 to 1993 before he started working for Ernst & Young in Stuttgart as a management consultant.
After completing further studies in business administration in France, Baumann began working for consultancy McKinsey in Vienna. He moved to the family business in 2004 to take took over over the role of managing partner from his father, Guenter Baumann.
Until his death, Baumann held the managing partner position with Martin Peters, who is also Eberspaecher's chief financial officer.
During his time as head of the supplier, Baumann doubled staff to 10,000 at 80 global locations.
In 2019, sales at the supplier rose 7.7 percent to almost 5 billion euros, significantly outpacing the overall global automotive market.
Eberspaecher ranks No. 47 on the Automotive News Europe list of the top 100 global suppliers.
Eberspaecher produces a range of automotive components in the area of exhaust technology, automotive electronics and thermal management systems.
In addition to running the supplier, Baumann was active in local commerce and politics, including representing suppliers on the advisory board of the German auto industry association, VDA.
He is survived by his wife and two children.
Automobilwoche contributed to this report
