BMW Group has named Stefan Gerhaeusser to lead its U.S. technology office in Silicon Valley’s Mountain View, California, according to a July 30 company press release. Gerhaeusser replaces Claus Dorrer, who will now lead product development for the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant and other in-car digital technologies, a role Gerhaeusser previously held. The changes were effective Aug. 1.

“Our technology offices play an important role in securing BMW Group’s position as a technology and innovation leader — now and into the future,” Rudolph Bencker, BMW senior vice president of inventions and innovations management, said in a statement. “Strong leadership has been critical to our success, and I am confident that Stefan will build on what Claus and others before him have started,” he said.
The Mountain View technology office is one of several BMW research and development hubs “strategically based in key technology hotspots around the world,” according to BMW. The offices “collect local insight, identify emerging technologies and work with key partners to envision the future of BMW Group products and customer experience,” per the automaker.
Gerhaeusser first joined BMW in 2008. He spent his first two years at the company as an IT specialist for BMW’s corporate offices in South Carolina. Afterwards, he worked in various UI/UX and software development roles for BMW in Munich, according to his LinkedIn profile. For the past three and a half years, Gerhaeusser managed a department focused on designing and developing digital experiences, including the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant, the carmaker’s voice-activated digital assistant. The Silicon Valley appointment marks Gerhaeusser’s return to a U.S.-based staff role.
Dorrer joined BMW in 1996 as a developer and project manager in BMW’s research division, per his LinkedIn profile. His nearly three decades at BMW span work on various technologies, including driver assistance and digital driver experience systems. Dorrer moved from Munich to California in 2022 to become head of the U.S. technology office, where he oversaw several research and innovation projects involving augmented reality, artificial intelligence, e-mobility, battery technology and more.
He returns to Munich to take over product development for the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant — the role Gerhaeusser vacated.