Following the premature departure of two chief executives and other top executives, Audi will be changing three more board members in the coming year. With CEO Bram Schot also the boards of finance, purchasing and personnel are replaced, as Audi announced on Wednesday after a supervisory board meeting.
CFO Alexander Seitz swaps his place on 1 March with former CFO of the VW brand, Arno Antlitz. Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess is now providing future Audi CEO Markus Duesmann with an experienced financial expert from the headquarters in Wolfsburg. This came itself from the Audi competitor BMW and had subsequently wooed his companion Duesmann.
Duesmann replaces Schot
Last week, the decision was made that Duesmann replaces Schot on April 1st. Schot had only taken over the duties of longtime boss Rupert Stadler last year. Stadler had been forced out of office because of the diesel scandal. Because of the exhaust emissions manipulation, Audi also swapped several development boards within a few years.
On April 1, HR Director Wendelin Göbel also vacates his place, which will be taken over by ThyssenKrupp HR Manager Sabine Maaßen. The lawyer formerly worked on the board of IG Metall and also headed the legal department there.
Audi procurement director Bernd Martens will also be replaced on 1 April by Dirk Große-Loheide, who previously worked in the same capacity at the VW brand. Diess also gets a BMW manager as VW procurement director: Murat Aksel has previously worked as a purchasing manager at BMW in America.
Volkswagen boss Diess said he believes only the new management team can bring the group subsidiary fighting sales problems back on track. "Now it's up to the new CEO Markus Duesmann and his future team to make Vorsprung durch Technik the unequivocal maxim at Audi," said Diess.
