BMW Names Brussels Airlines CEO as Labour Relations Director

BMW has gone outside the car industry for its next people chief

Dorothea von Boxberg, currently the CEO of Brussels Airlines, has been appointed to BMW’s Board of Management and named its Labour Relations Director. 

The move, which comes into effect as of 1 September 2026, will see Dorothea succeed Ilka Horstmeier, who is handing over her role as Member of the Board of Management responsible for People and Real Estate.

“On behalf of the General Works Council, I would like to thank Ilka Horstmeier for the trusting and constructive collaboration over the past years,” says Dr Martin Kimmich, Chairman of the BMW Group General Works Council. 

“At the same time, I am pleased that, in Dorothea von Boxberg, we are gaining an experienced leader with a strong track record in transformation processes. Together with us, she will devote her full focus in the coming years to further developing our structures and ways of working in line with our BMW culture.”

Making a ‘positive and lasting’ impact at BMW

Dorothea has spent more than three years as CEO of Brussels Airlines, with more than 20 years in the aviation industry. 

Approximately 14 of those years were spent with Lufthansa Group, Brussels Airlines’ parent company, where she held various leadership roles in strategy, subsidiaries, product management and customer experience. 

In 2021, she took on the CEO role for two years at Lufthansa Cargo, while also holding additional responsibility as CFO. 

Moving into the automotive industry, she says, is a “truly unique opportunity”, that “feels too meaningful not to pursue”. 

“It is an exciting challenge and a chance to bring everything I have learned into a new environment, where I hope to make a positive and lasting contribution,” she adds. 

A BMW veteran

But while Dorothea may be new to the automotive industry, IIka has spent more than 30 years with BMW – first joining the group as a trainee in 1995. 

During her time at the company, she has held several roles across human resources and wider strategic functions, leading a company-wide ‘future employment structures’ initiative between 2012 and 2013, which was created to adapt the company’s workforce to evolving marketplace conditions. 

“Ilka Horstmeier has provided decisive impulses for the BMW Group’s Human Resources function and has made a significant contribution to the BMW Group being regarded today as one of the most attractive employers in Germany,” says Dr Nicolas Peter, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BMW AG. “On behalf of the entire Supervisory Board, I would like to thank her for her service to the BMW Group, and we wish her all the best for the future.” 

A structural shift for BMW

Dorothea joins a challenging financial landscape for BMW, marked by reduced performance in China and EV sales slowing across the broader automotive market. According to the company, her new role will help the company evolve its existing organisational structures as it looks to improve overall performance.

“The BMW Group faces new challenges that require consistent adjustment of our structures and ways of working,” says Dr. Milan Nedeljković, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “I am convinced that Dorothea von Boxberg will be an excellent addition to the Board of Management in addressing these tasks successfully.”