BRABUS Strengthens Board With New CMO, CSO and Creative Director
BRABUS has strengthened its executive leadership team by appointing Stefan Ponikva as Chief Marketing Officer, Michael Küpferle as Chief Sales Officer and Milica Umicevic as Creative Director. All three will join the BRABUS Board with effect from 1 December 2025. This step accelerates the company’s evolution into a global luxury brand that extends beyond its heritage in high-performance automobiles.
These appointments expand BRABUS’s strategic platform for long-term growth, diversified product worlds and immersive customer experiences. The German luxury manufacturer in Bottrop continues to expand its presence beyond the automotive sector, including high-performance boats and motorcycles, lifestyle products, and exclusive luxury real estate.
Stefan Ponikva brings more than two decades of international brand management experience and a track record of bold, emotionally resonant brand building. He has led strategic transformation that unites digital and physical communication to position brands as cultural symbols with global reach. During his tenure at BMW, he guided brand and marketing teams worldwide, championed creativity and innovation, built cross-functional collaboration and helped shape immersive customer experiences, high-impact partnerships and cutting-edge engagement.
Speaking about his new role, Stefan Ponikva describes his mission as: “giving even more reasons to love the brand BRABUS.” He adds, “My goal is to create an even stronger pull effect for our brand by orchestrating digital and physical communication into emotional experiences and meaningful touchpoints. Throughout my years at BMW, leading global brand communication and experience teams, pushing boundaries in marketing and go-to-market concepts was always my top priority. Based on this strategic vision, I look forward to boosting BRABUS to the next level. Together with a fantastic team here in Bottrop, fostering creativity, innovation and collaboration.”
Michael Küpferle joins the board as Chief Sales Officer after serving as Director General since July 2025. He returns to BRABUS with deep institutional knowledge from 2006 to 2016, when he held several key roles. He served as Managing Director of BRABUS Middle East LLC in Dubai, then led sales for the BRABUS Classic division and managed regional sales for the Middle East. He combines his experience in luxury automobiles and luxury goods with entrepreneurial expertise shaped by close work with high-net-worth individuals. He will focus on expanding global sales structures, strengthening customer relationships worldwide and supporting the next phase of BRABUS growth.
“I believe my role at BRABUS is to serve as the bridge between two essential worlds: the strong emotional appeal of the brand and the commercial success that fuels its growth,” explains Küpferle. “I had the privilege of learning from the best salesman I’ve ever met, our late founder Prof. h.c. Bodo Buschmann’s philosophy continues to guide our sales efforts today. Always stay close to the product, and even closer to the customer.” He emphasises, “My ambition is to elevate the revenue to similar heights as the brand, to create a ‘unicorn movement’ and to combine international best practices in pursuit of a sales strategy that sets new standards for our industry and underscores the unique DNA that has defined BRABUS since 1977.”
Milica Umicevic joins the board as Creative Director, having led VIP Relations at BRABUS since November 2023. She will direct the brand’s creative vision and shape the creative direction of BRABUS Masterpiece vehicles. She will also bring culturally and design-relevant trends into the business to keep the BRABUS aesthetic aligned with the lifestyles and visual codes of its global clientele.
“My passion lies in understanding design trends long before they enter the mainstream,” says Umicevic. “I immerse myself in the worlds where tomorrow’s target groups already live, especially in luxury and high fashion, and bring those insights into BRABUS. As our product portfolio evolves further into new segments, my goal is to identify new audiences and shape the aesthetic dialogue that connects them to our brand.”
The strengthened board supports BRABUS’s long-term strategy to grow from one of the world’s most renowned manufacturers of exclusive high-performance vehicles into a holistic global luxury brand. The company plans to expand into new automotive and non-automotive segments, build emotional brand ecosystems, and deliver exceptional experiences that extend beyond traditional BRABUS products.
BRABUS CEO Constantin Buschmann emphasises the importance of the new leadership appointments: “Stefan, Michael and Mili each bring exactly the kind of unique strengths that reflect where BRABUS is heading as a global luxury brand. Their combined expertise in experience- and social-driven marketing, global sales strategy and creative brand design will help us expand the BRABUS universe even further, and we look forward to shaping this next chapter together.”
