Volkwagen Group’s leaders will have a meeting next month to examine a new leadership structure after the resignation of its former Chairman Ferdinand Piech.
The meeting will be held in June and among the changes discussed will be the possibility of aligning individual brands more closely, according to a supervisory board member who spoke to Reuters.
VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, who won the public showdown between himself and Piech, forcing the former patriarch to resign, confirmed to the shareholders that the company will address the issues that Piech complained about. These complaints triggered the leadership crisis in the first place and the supervisory board seeks to lower the tensions created and return its focus back to business.
Piech himself didn’t attend the shareholder’s meeting for the first time in more than two decades. He is still holding a stake in VW and insiders say that Piech has still influence behind the scenes. The former VW boss complained before the shareholders meeting that his nieces replacing him and his wife on the board don’t have enough automotive experience.
Winterkorn said that the supervisory board is working hard to find a replacement for Berthold Huber, VW’s interim Chairman. According to Huber though, VW won’t rush in finding a successor to Piech. “The supervisory board will address the succession of Piech with the necessary diligence and calm. This will take some time”, he said.
VW is looking for ways to increase the profitability of its core brand, while planning a new strategy for North America and create a more competitive truck branch to rival sector leader Daimler.
PHOTO GALLERY
