[AUTO] Accelerates revolution at the top of the Volkswagen group

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Herbert Diess, the CEO of the German group, changes the heads of the Audi, Seat and Skoda brands

 

 

The CEO of the Volkswagen Group, Herbert Diess, said this week in Germany that he has carried out 80% of the changes he plans to make to his executive and those of the brands of the German consortium.

Diess joined the company in 2015 with Martin Winterkorn to lead the Volkswagen brand, months before the dieselgate jumped in September. The Volkswagen Group then chose Thomas Müller, the until then president of Porsche, to look for the failure in the chain of decisions that had triggered this scandal.

In April 2018, once the introspection was completed, the exercise of transparency was completed and the responsibilities were refined, the Volkswagen Group decided to appoint Herber Diess CEO of the group to replace Müller. This is when Diess begins to design his management strategy with a team he trusts.

 

 

However, the coronavirus crisis has served to accelerate these relays. In just two months, Bernard Maier, Skoda's CEO, has resigned; Thomas Sedran, CEO of the Commercial Vehicles Division; and Andreas Renschler, director of the truck and bus division, called Traton.

To these names must be added that of the group's chief software officer, Christian Senger, who has been dismissed; and that of Jürgen Stackmann, former president of Seat and until now responsible for sales and marketing of the Volkswagen brand, who is also leaving his post.

The Diess revolution does not end there. If you go back on the calendar you have to remember the departure of Luca de Meo in January. Since July 1, he has been the CEO of the Renault Group.

 

 

Luca De Meo left the company after denying Diess his aspiration to be the leader of Audi, which groups the own brand of rings, Lamborghini and Ducati. In an interview with EL MUNDO, the CEO of the Volkswagen Group said he was in no hurry to fill the vacancy left by the Italian. Today, six months later, Carsten Isensee continues to be the interim president of Seat. Diess has also not yet named Bernard Meier as his replacement for Skoda.

Another position now covered on an interim basis is that of the Head of Seat Design, after De Meo signed the Spaniard Alejandro Mesonero Romanos for Renault.

 

 

Diess couldn't let De Meo be the CEO of Audi because he had already promised that position to Marcus Duesmann. Arrived from BMW -like Diess in his day-, Duesmann has been the boss of Audi since April. Duesmann himself has been appointed by Diess to head the software division, called Car.Software. This business unit is key for the German consortium in its battle to lead the electric and connected car. The failures detected in the VW ID3, the VW Golf, the Audi A3 and the Seat León have triggered a reorganization of this area, with the arrival of Duesmann and the departure of Senger.

With all these changes, the Volkswagen Group's Supervisory Board asked Diess for explanations, who veiled the executives for leaking secret information to the press. Diess had to apologize and the German consortium issued a statement accepting his apology and reaffirming it. Of course, he was relieved of his position as CEO of the Volkswagen brand, a position now held by Ralf Brandstätter, until now Director of Operations.

Only Diess knows 20% of pending changes in the automotive giant. Maybe you decide when to run them this summer, while tasting their venerated anchovies from Santoña.

 

 

FROM SEAT TO RENAULT
In March 2019, Herbert Diess accompanied Luca de Meo in the presentation of record results for the Spanish brand. De Meo has been the CEO of the Renault Group since last July 1. And the 100% electric Seat el-Born with which they were posing will reach the market only under the sports brand Cupra.