BMW directors to discuss senior personnel appointments: sources

FRANKFURT/MUNICH (Reuters) - BMW (BMW.XE)AG's supervisory board will meet on Tuesday and discuss top-level appointments and strategy at the German carmaker, two sources told Reuters on Monday.

Current Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer's contract is due to expire in 2016, forcing the 20-member supervisory board to deliberate on whether to replace him or to extend his contract as the company prepares to celebrate its centenary in 2016.

It is unclear whether final decisions about personnel appointments will reached on Tuesday, since the usual timetable for deliberating succession is not until a year before a board member's contract expires.

BMW declined to comment.

Should BMW decide to make a change to its board structure, it could pave the way for picking Reithofer's eventual successor.

Among the contenders who could replace Reithofer are members of the existing board, which includes Friedrich Eichiner, the 59-year-old chief financial officer, and Harald Krueger, the company's 49-year-old production chief.

In September, BMW said it will extend Eichiner's contract until May 2017, a radical step for the German auto maker, which has until now forced most of its board members to retire at 60.

(Additional reporting by Frank Siebelt and Peter Maushagen and Jens Hack; Editing by Noah Barkin and Dan Grebler)

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