About

In place at ZF Friedrichshafen since 2012, Dr Jan Eckert has overseen a number of exciting projects with the company. In addition to two public takeovers by ZF – TRW and Wabco, he has also been in charge of implementing a new governance model at the company aimed at accommodating agile business models, among other projects. ‘Generally, I have been very lucky in my career that I have been involved in many interesting projects, but a number of examples like the public takeover of Schering by Bayer and the spin-off of Lanxess stand out as highlights’, he says. ‘Through complex M&A projects, I have learned what a small dedicated team can achieve and what satisfaction the successful completion of an acquisition – especially after facing heavy competition – can bring. Going through insolvency with the IT start-up EINSTEINet Holding in 2001 has shown me that the creativity of lawyers can save the economic existence of many people, while the implementation of a new governance model was also an extremely informative episode, as this was only possible after re-defining the role of in-house lawyers in the company’. This was an extremely comprehensive programme which involved ensuring buy-in from multiple colleagues as well as the entire team: ‘The legal team at ZF has re-defined its role and transitioned from legal advisors to real business lawyers,’ says Dr Eckert.