Defining clear targets, creating the conditions and focusing totally on the task – for Mario Theissen that is the bedrock of success. “But,” he emphasises, “it is no guarantee.” Theissen is an engineer and an analyst. If a technical fault crops up, it is no misfortune in his eyes, but a challenge to excel even further. The job of managing a Formula One team has presented him with many new and varied tasks. He sought out these challenges and set up the BMW Sauber F1 Team. For all his down-to-earth leadership style, he has also long been what is described in the paddock as a passionate racer. His technical interest in engine construction and his professional as well as private enthusiasm for motor sport accompanied him through his mechanical engineering studies and subsequently took him straight to BMW. He has been working for the company since 1977, when he started out in the engine calculation department. Later he took on managerial responsibilities. In 1999 the blend of his various passions for sport, engineering and complex management tasks led to his dream career: since April of that year he has been BMW Motorsport Director, initially heading the group’s motorsport involvement jointly with Gerhard Berger. For Mario Theissen, BMW’s victory in the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours against one of the strongest fields in the history of this marathon event will remain unforgettable. Since October 2003 he has been BMW’s sole Motorsport Director. With a doctorate in mechanical engineering and an honorary professorship, Theissen is responsible for all of BMW’s motor sport projects on four wheels. Apart from the Formula BMW series, these include the involvement in the FIA World Touring Car Championship – and the first BMW-run Formula One team in company history. He got this project up and running without any illusions, but with a clear-cut structure and a two-year development plan. Two locations – Munich and Hinwil – present no obstacle for him. The BMW Group operates manufacturing sites and think tanks around the globe. Theissen’s talent for location management is reflected not only in his day-to-day profession – he has an office in Munich and one in Hinwil. His children have been able to spend part of their education abroad, and with his wife Ulrike he makes the most of what Munich has to offer. And from time to time he is drawn to his old home in the countryside. Mario Theissen grew up in Monschau in the Eifel. At the age of 13 he bought his first car: a Fiat 500, for which he paid a hundred marks. It was mainly used for test purposes before being replaced by a road-legal car when he came of age. These days he has no time to tinker with cars any more as his free time has been radically pared down. It used to be sufficient to allow him to train for a marathon; nowadays he just about salvages enough for a long morning run or to go to the fitness centre that was built for the BMW Motorsport staff on his initiative.
