John Christman has been named vhairman and chief executive officer for BMW Financial Services, LLC, responsible for all of the company's operations in North and Latin America.

Christman, 47, previously served as chief financial officer for BMW FS, a position he has held for three years since joining the company in 1994. He succeeds Stefan Krause, who assumed responsibility for sales in all European countries except Germany earlier this year.

"John Christman brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the job and that will enable him to guide the company's evolution as it expands into new areas in support of the BMW brand." said Krause. "BMW Financial Services will continue to grow its core business in all of the Americas as well as develop its banking and insurance services."

Christman joined BMW FS as controller in 1994, and was named Chief Financial Officer in 1997. Prior to that, Christman worked as assistant controller and later senior controller of Commercial Businesses for Fleet Financial Group and held positions at KPMG Peat Marwick.

Christman is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy of Annapolis, Md., and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in political science. He also earned a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from Boston University.

BMW FS Americas Region has facilities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

Robert Devine, President and Managing Director of the U.S. market for BMW FS, will continue to run BMW FS operations in the US. Devine joined the company in 1992 and is responsible for dealer relations, product pricing, and marketing and sales support of BMW Financial Services in the United States.

About BMW Financial Services

BMW Financial Services North America Inc. was established in 1992 as a captive finance company to support the North and Latin American sales and marketing efforts of BMW. With more than $11 billion in managed assets and more than 364,00 customers, BMW FS leases or finances over half of the new BMWs sold in the U.S.

BMW FS employs about 400 people, most of whom are located in the Dublin, Ohio, Customer Service Center. BMW FS also services the Canadian market and just recently opened a new Financial Services company in Brazil.

Information about BMW products is available at www.bmwusa.com.