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BERLIN (Reuters) - German braking systems maker Knorr-Bremse said its majority shareholder Heinz Hermann Thiele, who shaped the company since buying it from his then-employer in 1985, has died unexpectedly at the age of 79.
FILE PHOTO: The Lufthansa logo is pictured at Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, September 21, 2020. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
Thiele was also a major shareholder in Lufthansa, becoming a highly visible public figure last year when he was portrayed as the main obstacle to the state bailout the airline needed to survive the coronavirus crisis.
“The Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board mourn the loss of a global and visionary entrepreneur who has been shaping the global rail and commercial vehicle industry for decades,” Munich-based Knorr-Bremse said in a statement on Tuesday.