Stefan Pierer steps down from KTM executive board in wake of restructuring
Pierer helmed KTM for more than three decades
KTM AG has announced that former CEO and latterly co-CEO Stefan Pierer has resigned from the executive board of the brand after over three decades in charge.
The news comes in the wake of KTM’s restructuring plan being accepted by creditors last week, which sets it on the path to survival after months of uncertainty through a major financial crisis.
Pierer founded the Pierer Mobility Group in 1987 and served as a shareholder and member of KTM’s management board from 1992 until this week.
He stood down as CEO at the start of the year, handing over to Gottfried Neumeister, but continued to act as co-CEO as the company moved ahead with its restructuring plan.
On Tuesday, KTM AG announced that Pierer would be stepping down entirely. He will remain as co-CEO of Pierer Mobility AG.
“I wish Gottfried Neumeister all the best from the bottom of my heart,” 68-year-old Pierer said in a statement.
“In him I have found the perfect successor and I am firmly convinced that he will lead the company successfully into the future.”
Neumeister added: “I would like to thank Stefan Pierer for his trust in allowing me to continue his life’s work.
“I see it as an honour and an obligation to continue the history of KTM and to break new ground together with our great employees.”
KTM has also confirmed that the head of its legal department Verena Schneglberger-Grossmann has been appointed onto the board.
On 25 February, KTM’s restructuring and its plans to pay back creditors 30% of the over €2 billion debts it had accrued was accepted in the Austrian courts.
KTM will need to pay €548 million by 23 May, though numerous entities are said to have pledged up to €900 million in investment.
Production, which has been on pause over the winter, will begin again in mid-March after Bajaj Auto - who owns 49% of KTM - pledged a €50 million loan.
The future of the MotoGP project remains uncertain still, though talk of a planned withdrawal first mentioned in December has gone cold since.
The Austrian manufacturer didn’t make a great start to the 2025 season, with Pedro Acosta crashing early in the Thai Grand Prix and its top runner Brad Binder in eighth - almost 20s back from winner Marc Marquez.
