After Enkraft at RWE, another rather small shareholder is now taking on a Dax group to initiate changes there.

Swiss impact investor Inyova is targeting BMW.

"We are proposing BMW's own candidate for the supervisory board," says Tilmann Lang, CEO of Inyova, in an interview with the FAZ. The candidate is Susan Shaheen, who teaches mobility at the American elite University Berkley and researches and repeatedly works on projects with German car manufacturers - including BMW.

Inyova manages around 1900 portfolios and is an impact investor.

With this type of investment, investors place a special focus on investments where social and ecological impact can be measured.

What drives the investor?

“Like the entire automotive industry, BMW is moving in a disruptive environment.

This requires a whole new level of expertise.

That should be reflected more than before on the BMW Supervisory Board.” Susan Shaheen argues in a similar direction.

"I would be happy to accompany BMW in this phase of disruption," says the American in an interview.

German car manufacturers in particular are still far too much in the comfort zone.

Shaheen has been in the automotive industry for over 25 years and covers areas from autonomous driving to completely new mobility concepts.

She comes from the research side and worked for many years with the Japanese automobile group Honda.

She has never sat on a supervisory board before.

BMW is somewhat surprised by the move.

A company spokesman does not want to comment on this, after all this is a matter for the supervisory board.

In the supervisory body of the Munich car manufacturer, one feels well positioned even without Susan Shaheen.

The skills that the American professor brings to the table are believed to be there.

Been on the eco-trail for a long time

In fact, chief controller Norbert Reithofer had already sent the white-blue group onto the eco-path when he was CEO.

Barely in office, Reithofer secured the services of former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 2009.

The recently deceased consultant had a dense network and provided valuable information on new environmental regulations and emission laws in America.

Reithofer withdrew BMW from the expensive Formula 1 and presented Joschka Fischer, an old enemy of the auto industry, as a consultant on environmental issues.

On the supervisory board, the 65-year-old now largely directs a group of German men, even if a powerful woman is represented in Susanne Klatten: the Quandt heiress and her brother Stefan Quandt own almost half of the group.

The fact that Shaheen has no chance of entering the supervisory board is due to the fact that only one candidate is standing for re-election.

And with Heinrich Hiesinger, of all things, that's a heavyweight in the German managerial scene.

Both Tilmann Lang and Susan Shaheen are well aware that the candidacy has little chance of success.

Nevertheless, they consider the discussion about the composition of the Supervisory Board to be useful.

"Conversations have to start somewhere," says Shaheen.