CEO Dr. Zeljko Matijevic leaves the odelo group after ten years

Dr. Zeljko Matijevic resigns voluntarily for personal reasons as of 31.12.2011

Ahmet Bayraktar, Managing Partner of odelo: "Mr. Matijevic successfully led the company out of the crisis, restructured it and takes much of the credit for odelo’s successful integration into the Bayraktalar group."

Schwaikheim, December 23, 2011 – Dr. Zeljko Matijevic, CEO of odelo GmbH, announced today that he will leave the company at the end of the year. Dr. Zeljko Matijevic is resigning from his role at odelo GmbH, a leading manufacturer of tail and signal lights for the premium segment of the automotive industry, in order to dedicate himself to new challenges in the automotive industry. The operative management of the business will be divided between the members of the management team until a new CEO is found.

"We have started looking for a suitable successor," said Ahmet Bayraktar, Managing Partner of odelo GmbH in Schwaikheim. "I would like to thank Mr. Matijevic on behalf of all the staff for his outstanding commitment to the company. He successfully led the company out of the crisis, restructured it and takes much of the credit for odelo’s successful integration into the Bayraktalar group."

Dr. Matijevic has been at the head of odelo GmbH since 2006. Starting in 2002, he had already held various managerial roles at Schefenacker, now known as odelo GmbH since 2007.

Dr. Zeljko Matijevic successfully lead the odelo group through a two-year restructuring process after its split from Schefenacker in 2007, oversaw the company’s expansion into Slovenia and guaranteed that its products‘ level of innovation remained at the heart of the company’s strategy. With its integration into Bayraktarlar Holding in February 2011, odelo will continue the international expansion as market leader for innovative automobile lighting devices started by Dr. Zeljko Matijevic.

About odelo GmbH
odelo GmbH, based in Schwaikheim, is a leading manufacturer of tail and signal lamps for the premium segment of the automotive industry. The company was founded in 1935 in Esslingen by Alfred Schefenacker. In 2007, the lamps division of the Schefenacker group split off, and was renamed odelo in 2008. In 2011, odelo was taken over by Bayraktalar Holding A. S., a leading manufacturer in the automotive lighting sector in Turkey. As part of the Bayraktalar group, odelo employs 1,600 workers at five different sites in Germany and Slovenia.

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