Howard Laster to retire

The head of Continental’s automotive aftermarket business in North America is calling it a career after 45 years.

The company announced that Howard Laster will retire at the end of this year. He has been with Continental for the last 27 years. He joined Continental as part of the Siemens Automotive acquisition in 2004.

Laster has been responsible for overall business strategy, product quality and performance. He also has overseen the development of effective sales and marketing activities for the Continental, ATE and VDO product brands sold in the North American automotive aftermarket.

James Bayley, head of the associated business area Smart Mobility in North America, will be taking over the role temporarily until a successor is announced.

“Thanks to Howard’s exceptional leadership and dedication, Continental has been able to achieve extraordinary success in a very diversified and competitive marketplace. Through his efforts, we were able to not only grow our core product lines but also expand our market share with timely innovations and well-positioned market entries and business initiatives,” he said in an announcement. “On behalf of everyone in the Continental family and beyond, I want to sincerely thank Howard for his dedicated service and wish him the best of health and enjoyment in his retirement.”