Manfred Lautenschläger, born on 15 December 1938 in Karlsruhe, studied law in Heidelberg, Freiburg and Hamburg after completing his Abitur and military service. He passed his second state examination in 1968. After working briefly as a lawyer, he and Eicke Marschollek realised the idea of ‘advising university graduates’ on insurance matters, independently of insurance companies.
On 1 January 1971, Marschollek, Lautenschläger und Partner KG was founded, which was later converted into a GmbH and in 1984 into a public limited company. The company was listed on the stock exchange on 15 June 1988 (Stuttgart and Frankfurt).
Manfred Lautenschläger was Chairman of the Executive Board of Marschollek, Lautenschläger und Partner AG from 1984 to 1993 and of the newly founded MLP Holding AG from 1993 to 1999. At the Annual General Meeting on 19 May 1999, he moved from the Executive Board to the Supervisory Board of the company, where he took over as Chairman. He stepped down as Chairman in 2008. He stepped down from the Supervisory Board in 2018. The Supervisory Board of MLP SE appointed him as its Honorary Chairman on 14 June 2018.
In March 2002, he established the Manfred Lautenschläger Stiftung gGmbH, whose purpose is to promote science and research, education and training, art and culture, international understanding and the idea of the home country.
On 10 November 1998, he was made an honorary senator of the Ruprecht Karls University in Heidelberg and was awarded an honorary doctorate on 18 October 2008.
On 23 March 2009, he was awarded the Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
He is married and has five children.