After accumulating a significant portion of company equity, he became the Chairman of the board of directors in 1987. Since November 2005, Thiele is an Honorary Citizen of the Hungarian city of Kecskemet, where his company has a factory with 730 employees. In 2011, he decided to sit on the advisory board, and gave a portion of the company to his children, Julia and Henrik. He also holds 25% of the international leader in railway market Vossloh. Nowadays, Thiele spends his time in hiking, skiing, animal photography and philanthropic work, which brings him various awards.
