Harman has appointed Christian Sobottka as the new president for its automotive division. Harman International is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Harman focuses on connected technologies for automotive applications in addition to consumer and enterprise markets. Sobottka will take charge of his new role in the company from January 1, 2021. His most recent appointment was at Robert Bosch Automotive Steering GmbH in the role of Chief Executive Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board. Sobottka has been appointed to Harman’s senior leadership committee. He will be based out of Garching, Germany and report directly to Michael Mauser, the president and chief executive officer.
Mauser said; “With his decades-long career as an automotive industry executive and deep expertise in leading teams across functions including engineering, sales, marketing and operations, Christian brings significant leadership and strategic value to HARMAN’s management team,” He added that Christian will assume the responsibility of the company’s connected car, car audio, and connected vehicle services teams.
On his new appointment as the president of the automotive division, Sobottka commented; “Harman’s market domination and growth in the automotive space is a testament to the remarkable vision, commitment and innovation of its leadership and teams around the world,”
Sobottka brings over two decades of experience in the international automotive industry. Prior to his time at Bosch Automotive Steering GmbH, Sobottka held leadership roles in multiple departments at different companies within Bosch. Sobottka holds a Dipl.-Ing in Electrical Engineering from the Technische Universität Darmstadt and an Executive MBA from the University of Bradford.