The shakeups at Volkswagen continue, but they’ve now reached the top leadership position as the company’s Supervisory Board has appointed Oliver Blume as the new Chairman of the Group Board of Management.
Blume will assume the position on September 1st, while also remaining Chairman of the Board of Management of Porsche. At the same time, Herbert Diess will resign “by mutual agreement.”
It remains unclear how mutual things really were, but Diess has been under pressure for nearly a year and the Supervisory Board’s Executive Committee met last year to decide his future. Diess survived that fight, but it appears to have been in vain as he’s now out.
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Putting the infighting aside, Hans Dieter Pötsch, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, thanked Diess and the role he played in transforming Volkswagen into an electric powerhouse for the 21st century. As he stated, “During his tenure as Chairman of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand and as Chairman of the Group Board of Management, Herbert Diess played a key role in advancing the transformation of the company. The Group and its brands are viable for the future; its innovative capabilities and earning power are strengthened.” He added the outgoing executive not only steered the company “through extremely turbulent waters, but he also implemented a fundamentally new strategy.”
His sentiments were echoed by the Supervisory Board which said, Diess “came up with a number of innovative product ideas, redesigned product portfolios and established the clear focus on electromobility.” They also credited him with “groundbreaking platform-based approaches as well as organizational changes that resulted in greater regional independence.
While the board offered glowing praise, Diess made a number of enemies during his four-year tenure at the top. In particular, Reuters is quoting sources as saying the powerful Porsche and Piech families “pressed for a change at the helm.” They seem to have gotten their way as the publication noted Diess’ contract wasn’t set to expire until 2025.
