Volkswagen: Mangement

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Below are the senior executives directly involved in the running of the company.

Senior Management

See also: Volkswagen: Management Videos

1. Oliver Blume

Read about him here: Volkswagen Management: CEO Oliver Blume

2. CFO, Dr. Arno Antlitz

Positions

• Antlitz became CFO of Volkswagen AG in April 2021.
• Antlitz is also the groups Chief Operating Officer (COO), a position he has held since September 1, 2022.
• Until his appointment as Volkswagen Group CFO, he was Audi CFO from March 2020.
• From January 2010 to March 2020, he was CFO for Volkswagen Brand.
• He joined Volkswagen AG in 2004.
• He has also been the Chairman of Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Financial Services since April 2021.

His predecessor

• Antlitz replaced Frank Witter who retired from the company.

• According to people familiar with the matter, Witter refused to have his contract extented which expired on October 2020, extended.
• Witter only allowed the company to extend the contract for 9 months as it seeks to find his successor.
• Witter had been the Group's CFO since October 2015.
• Witter was credited for bringing stability to the Group's balance sheet after a fine of $30 billion was imposed on the company following the diesel-gate scandal.

Achievements

• He made his reputation by being tough on costs, said Philippe Houchois, managing director at investment bank Jefferies Group. “He made a very good impression as CFO of the Volkswagen brand.”

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Results

Key Items	2019	Y/Y Growth	2018	Y/Y Growth	2017	Y/Y Growth	2016	Y/Y Growth	2015	Y/Y Growth	2014	Y/Y Growth	2013	Y/Y Growth	2012	Y/Y Growth	2011	Y/Y Growth	2010
Operating profit	€3.8 billion	17%	€3.2 billion	3%	€3.3 billion	74%	€1.9 billion	-10%	€2.1 billion	-16%	€2.5 billion		€2.9 billion	-21%	€3.5 billion	-8%	€3.8 billion	73%	€2.2 billion
Operating margin before special items	4.3%		3.8%		4.2%		1.8%		2.0%		2.5%		2.9%		3.5%		4.0%		2.7%

Education

• Antlitz has a mechanical engineering degree from Technical University Darmstadt.
• He also has a doctorate in political science from the Otto Beisheim School of Management (WHU).

Any relationship with other board members?

• He was an ally of CEO Herbert Diess.
• His appointment as CEO of Volkswagen Group came at a cost for Diess since he had to give up his demand for contract extension.

3. Ralf Brandstätter, CEO of Volkswagen AG China

Positions

• He became CEO of Volkswagen China in August 2022, replacing Herbert Diess.
• Prior to becoming CEO of Volkswagen China, he was the CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand, a position he held from July 2020. He also replaced Herbert Diess in this role.
• Before becoming CEO of Volkswagen China, he familiarized himsellf with the role by becoming COO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand from 1 April 2022.
• Prior to becoming CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, he was its COO from August 2018.
• Brandstätter was in charge of procurement for Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand from December 2015 to February 2019.
• Brandstätter was head of procurement at SEAT from 2005 to 2008 and member of management board in charge of procurement at SEAT from 2008 to 2010.
• Brandstätter held other roles for the Volkswagen Group since he joined in 1993.
• He was also touted as Diess possible replacement as the Group's CEO. In fact, Bernstein analyst Arndt Ellinghorst thought that Ralf Brandstätter was better for the CEO position instead of Oliver Blume.

Achievements

• As COO and CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, he led the production of ID.4 and ID.3, all-electric models, which were received positively by the customers.
• He also set course for the production of other electric models.

Education

• Brandstätter holds a diploma in industrial engineering from Jade Hochschule.
• He trained as a shopfitter at the Volkswagen plant in Brunswick.

4. Gernot Döllner, CEO of Audi AG

Read about him here: Audi CEO was replaced

5. Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand

Positions

• He took over as CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand in July 2022, replacing Ralf Brandstätter.
• Prior to becoming CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, he was the CEO of SKODA, a position he took over in August 2020.
• He was also the chief operating officer(COO) for Volkswagen brand from April 2022.
• Between 2015 and 2020, he was the Chairman and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa.
• Between 2012 and 2015, he was the head of Volkswagen Group International Production.
• He held several positions at Daimler AG from 1994 to 2012.

Achievements

• Lead SKODA expansion to India and North Africa.
• Advanced SKODA's electrification program.
• Launched SKODA's NEXT LEVEL – ŠKODA STRATEGY 2030.
• At Volkswagen Passenger Cars, an open atmosphere and encouragement of input from junior staff has been observed, something that didn't exist with the previous CEOs.
• As Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa, he increased the market share of the Group brands Volkswagen, Audi and VW Commercial Vehicles to 23.5%.

Attributes

• He is known for his charisma and personable nature.
• Unlike his boss, Oliver Blume, he doesn't support synthetic fuels. “It's not Mr. Blume behind it. I guarantee that,” said the VW brand's CEO. “This discussion around e-fuels is widely misunderstood. They have a role to play in existing fleets, but won't replace EVs. That's complete nonsense. Look at the physics of making e-fuels. We don't have enough energy as it is, so why waste it on e-fuels?” he said.
• He is a champion of team spirit.

He said has three main priorities;

• He wants to make VW lovable.
• He wants to make the brand more organized.
• He wants to drive the transition to EVs then to autonomous cars.

Education

• He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

6.Thomas Schmall-von Westerholt, head of Technology

Positions

• He was appointed as head of technology on January 2021.
• Prior to this role, he was a board member in charge of components, a position he took up on January 2015.
• Between 2009 and 2013, he was the Vice President of the São Paulo German-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
• He was also the President of the São Paulo German-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce from 2013 to March 2015.
• He was also the CEO of Volkswagen do Brasil from 2007 to 2014.
• From 2003 to 2006, Schmall was the Chairman of the Board of Management at VW Slovakia a.s.
• Between 1999 and 2003, he was the plant manager for the Curitiba Volkswagen business unit.
• Between 1996 and 1999, he was the assembly manager at the Wolfsburg site.
• Schmall joined Volkswagen in 1991 where he held other roles.
• Shmall was also touted as Harbert Diess successor.

Any relationship with the old board members?

• He was an ally of the former CEO Harbert Diess. In fact, Diess sacrifice his demand for contract extension to have Schmall appointed to the board.

Education

• He has a diploma in business administration from the University of Giessen.

Important mid-level management

Sanjay Lal, head of Cariad software hub

October 2, 2023: At its works council meeting, Cariad announced that they have hired Sanjay Lal as head of its software hub. The hub is in the process of developing two models for Volkswagen. “This hub will consist of a small team that will implement everything we need for rapid software development,” Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume said. “Speed is the new imperative to stay competitive.” From August 2021, Sanjay Lal, was Rivian's vice president of software platforms. Lal recently developed a new software platform for Rivian in record time. He was also the director of engineering at Tesla from July 2019 to August 2021. Lal also worked at Google for two years as director of android automotive.

Criticisms

December 27, 2023: Bert Flossbach, co-founder of Flossbach von Storch criticised Volkswagen’s governance for its low valuations. “Ever since the diesel scandal, the flaws [in Volkswagen’s governance] have become clearly evident,” he said. “We are aware of Volkswagen’s low [stock market] valuation but do not see any catalyst that could offset the discount to peers.” Flossbach added that decisions at Volkswagen are “highly complex and tangled” and that the controlling families’ goals “are not of a financial character.” Flossbach von Storch which has €70bn of assets under management has invested in Volkswagen’s bonds and not its shares.

July 19, 2023: Investors concerned that the lack of succession plan when the head of its controlling shareholder - the Porsche-Piech family clan - retire as well as lack of neutrality in the supervisory board is impacting valuation.