Thank God Germany Never Invaded England

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Now that Carl-Peter Forster has given notice, another German executive of Jaguar takes center stage: Ralf Speth, chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover Plc. Being born in the U.K. as a son of a German diplomat, Forster speaks flawless English with those Teutonic undertones that fit a car CEO well.

Speth on the other hand …. let’s just mention that Speth (that’s not pronounced as “spat”, Bloomies!) is an alumn of Rosenheim University . I had no idea that Rosenheim has one.

Please don’t take Forster’s job. Please?


Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • HiFlite999 HiFlite999 on Sep 13, 2011

    They didn't need to invade; the British monarchy has been mainly German since 1714. :)

    • See 2 previous
    • Robert.Walter Robert.Walter on Sep 13, 2011

      @mike978 Powers, like cultures, whether on the rise, or on the decline, usually fight to try to preserve what power, whether great and small, it currently has. By the way, the royal family, which Elizabeth II has been known to refer to as "the family business", in order to be seen as less germanic, rebranded itself during the war: - Windsor out of (IIRC) Hannover - Mountbatten out of Battenberg

  • LordDetroitofLondon LordDetroitofLondon on Sep 13, 2011

    Isn't the queen German?

    • See 6 previous
    • Eldard Eldard on Sep 18, 2011

      I thought the Queen's a reptile from the Subaru star system?

  • Robert.Walter Robert.Walter on Sep 13, 2011

    If England would just dispense with the monarchy, all this discussion would be more or less moot. To be honest, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the Normans for invading England and managing to stay as long as they did. Without this pivotal event, we would not be communicating in the fine (easy to learn, easy to get better at, and with all the functionality to equally describe - with ease and efficiency - the most complex technology or sublime feeling.) By the way, this was one of the worst interviews I've ever seen. He betrays his roots as son of a diplomat with his son of a gun tastes-great-less-fillinng generic and mostly useless responses. Is he naturally uncomfortable before the camera or just desperately in need of a long-overdue potty-break?

    • Ihatetrees Ihatetrees on Sep 13, 2011

      No doubt Mr Speth would have interviewed better had he wiped the snot off of his upper lip beforehand. I think...

  • F_Porsche F_Porsche on Sep 13, 2011

    I dont find his English all that bad. Luca di Montezemolo obviously sounds a lot more charming. You should check him on Youtube. It's hilarious. BTW Bertel, Rosenheim doesn't have an University. As you might remember there is something like a "Fachhochschule" simply translated as university even though it really isn't.

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