Starting this year, Continental is reorganizing its Public Affairs department. In this context, the technology corporation is bundling its Public Affairs and External Affairs activities under the umbrella of Group Public Affairs from January 1, 2022. Dr. Thorsten Burger (43), previously Head of External Affairs, has assumed responsibility for the newly created Group Public Affairs unit. Burger will additionally head the political office in Berlin.
“With the reorganization, we are bundling our communications with political and regulatory decision-makers. This will enable us to engage in a more intensive dialog while at the same time achieving significant synergy effects.”
- Birgit Hiller, Head of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
The previous head of the political office in Berlin, Harry Rogasch (60), has left the company at his own request and for personal reasons. “Harry Rogasch did an outstanding job of building up the political office in Berlin, which was opened in 2013, and continuously expanding our political relations there. We thank him for his support and wish him all the best for the future,” said Hiller. “A dialog with political decision-makers, offices and authorities that is both trusting and transparent is important to us. We are therefore pleased that Thorsten Burger will coordinate all public affairs activities and represent our interests in Berlin with immediate effect.”
Thorsten Burger has been with the company since 2014. He initially headed up Strategy and Communications in the Advanced Engineering department before assuming responsibility for the External Affairs department in 2020, where he oversaw a large number of government-funded projects worldwide. Prior to his move, the economic historian, who holds a PhD, worked in the public sector and for a management consulting firm. He is involved in various European industrial policy initiatives and public-private partnerships.
