Rüdiger Grube

Rüdiger Grube (born 2 August 1951) is a German engineer who served as the chairman of the board of Deutsche Bahn from 2009 until 2017 and as the chairman of EADS from 2007 until 2009.

Early life

Grube was born in Hamburg in 1951. He grew up on a farm. After technical training in metal aircraft construction, he went on to study automotive engineering and aircraft construction at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg, graduating as a qualified engineer. He studied vocational and business teaching there also at a later date. Between 1981 and 1986, he taught in production and engineering at the university, before completing a doctorate in industrial science and polytechnology.

Career

Grube started his career in 1989 at Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm and went on to work in a number of posts at DaimlerBenz including senior vice president and head of corporate strategy. He also worked for DaimlerChrysler, working closely with Jürgen E. Schrempp.

On April 25, 2009, Grube signed a five-year contract to succeed Hartmut Mehdorn as CEO of Deutsche Bahn AG, starting from May 1, 2009. The company at the time had been hit very hard by the recession and was facing questions over some of its technology-based decisions. Grube announced cuts at the firm. In 2015, after the longest driver strike in the company's history, Grube launched another restructuring to cut costs and modernize the rail system. That year the company recorded a €1.3 billion net loss, despite a slight rise in revenue to nearly €41 billion, a record at the time.

Between 2013 and 2017, Grube accompanied Chancellor Angela Merkel on a total of three state visits abroad.