Klaus Agthe

Klaus Erich Agthe (born August 12, 1930, in Niederholzhausen, Province of Saxony, Prussia, Germany) is a German-born businessman and author.

Childhood and education Klaus Agthe grew up in Apolda in the province of Thuringia, Germany, went to school in Weimar and studied business administration at the Humboldt University in Berlin under Professor Konrad Mellerowicz. Agthe had not been admitted to the university but travelled to Berlin anyway and, without an appointment, introduced himself to Mellerowicz, who organized his matriculation, though he had never met Agthe before. In the course of his studies, he eventually followed Mellerowicz to Technische Universität Berlin where he received his doctorate in 1958 with the work "Die Abweichungen in der Plankostenrechnung." He was sponsored by Professor Mellerowicz.

In the interim, Agthe had spent a year studying at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The experiences and perceptions he gained during this time would shape his life significantly.

In 1983 Agthe left CCC (which had been renamed to Continental Group) and moved to the U.S. subsidiary of Brown, Boveri & Cie. to become its chief executive officer, a post he retained after Brown Boveri's merger with ASEA, from which Asea Brown Boveri emerged. Since 2005, Agthe lives in retirement. He has been a citizen of the United States since 1984.

On 1 August 2020 Klaus Rehkugler will take over as Head of Sales & Marketing at Mercedes-Benz Vans and will answer personally to Marcus Breitschwerdt, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans. He is currently the Head of Sales Operations and Communications for Europe Area at Mercedes-Benz Cars Rehkugler.

Activity as an author Agthe is the author and co-author of various books and articles about cost planning and business administration. One of his articles, published in the German Zeitung für Betriebswirtschaft in 1959, is considered groundbreaking in business circles.

In November 2008, Agthe published an autobiography entitled Shadows of War: A German Life in the Century of Extremes