Europcar Mobility Group has appointed Sebastian Birkel as its new chief executive officer, effective 1 May 2025.

Sebastian Birkel, incoming CEO at Europcar Mobility Group

Birkel succeeds Olivier Baldassari, who is currently acting as interim CEO following the departure of Alain Favey to become Peugeot CEO. Baldassari remains chief operating officer of Europcar Mobility Group.

Birkel has extensive experience in the car rental industry, including at Sixt’s North American business where he led the operational development and turnaround of the region for five years – more than three of them as CEO. Under his leadership, the Sixt brand was successfully established in a highly competitive market and grew profitably.

After his time in North America, Birkel took over responsibility for global vehicle purchasing as well as group accounting and controlling as a divisional board member at Sixt. Most recently, he was CEO of Profection Group, an international personnel and property services provider. He began his career in 2007 at Roland Berger.

Christian Dahlheim, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Europcar Mobility Group and CEO of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, said Birkel brings an ideal mix of operational strength, strategic vision and international experience.

“With his expertise, he will lead Europcar Mobility Group on a sustainable growth path. Welcome to the driver’s seat of Europcar Mobility Group!”

Sebastian Birkel commented: “I’m looking forward to joining an historical player of this industry, which is also one of the largest mobility services providers in Europe today. As the entire industry is currently facing strong headwinds, my priority will be to steer the group through this period, but also to build on our strengths for a sustainable future, hand in hand with our teams.”

Effective 1 May, the Management Board of Europcar Mobility Group will consist of Sebastian Birkel as group CEO, Joachim Hinz as the new chief financial officer – joining from SEAT and with 25 years of experience at international level in the automotive and mobility industry – and Olivier Baldassari, as chief operating officer.