VW CEO ousted after tumultuous tenure
Porsche Chief Executive Oliver Blume will take over from Herbert Diess as CEO of Volkswagen, the carmaker said on Friday, after a supervisory board vote forced Diess to step down from his four-year tenure following a series of missteps over strategy and communication style.
Sources with knowledge of the matter said the Porsche and Piech families, who own over half the voting rights and a 31.4% equity stake in Volkswagen, pressed for change at
the helm.
“Diess was incorrigible. He significantly changed Volkswagen – for the better. But his communication was miserable,” one source said, asking not to be named.
Blume will take over from September 1, keeping his position as CEO of Porsche alongside his new responsibilities – “including in the event of a possible IPO”, a statement said.
The 54-year-old has held numerous roles around the Volkswagen empire, from trainee at Audi to production chief at the Wolfsburg headquarters to head production and logistics at Porsche from 2009 and CEO from 2013.
His latest challenge is spearheading the company’s effort to list on the stock market as it shores up funding to shift to electric-driven sports cars.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 24th, 2022.
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