Το VW Group ανακοίνωσε πως αλλάζει σχεδόν τα πάντα στη δομή του ώστε να καταφέρει να βάλει σε τάξη τα απόνερα που αφήνει πίσω του το σκάνδαλο μεγατόνων με τις εκπομπές ρύπων των πετρελαιοκινητήρων του.
Στη σημερινή συνεδρίαση του εποπτικού συμβουλίου της Volkswagen AG δεν αποφασίστηκε μόνο τη τοποθέτηση του CEΟ της Porsche, Matthias Müller στη θέση του CEO του VW Group, μετά την αποχώρηση του Martin Winterkorn, αλλά ενέκρινε και τη νέα διοικητική διάρθρωση του VW Group.
Αρχικά, η αγορά της Βορείου Αμερικής (Η.Π.Α, Μεξικό, Καναδάς) ενώνεται κάτω από μια ομπρέλα, με τον 58-χρονο Winfried Vahland, πρώην Πρόεδρο του Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου της Skoda,να αναλαμβάνει την ηγεσία του. Ο Vahland γίνεται επίσης και μέλος του Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου της Volkswagen. Την θέση του στην Skoda την αναλαμβάνει ο Bernhard Maier (55 ετών), μέχρι σήμερα μέλος του Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου για το τμήμα πωλήσεων και μάρκετινγκ της Porsche. Ο Michael Horn (52 ετών) την γλύτωσε και παραμένει πρόεδρος και CEO της Volkswagen Αμερικής.
Η Porsche στο πλαίσιο της αναδιάρθρωσης του VW Group σε 4 ομάδες, ενώνεται σε μια ομάδα με την Bentley και την Bugatti. Υπεύθυνος για την ομάδα αυτή θα είναι ο Διευθύνων Σύμβουλος του VW Group, Matthias Mueller. Η Audi συνεχίζει να λειτουργεί αρκετά αυτόνομα, με τις Lamborghini και Ducati, να βρίσκονται κάτω από την ομπρέλα της, με την Volkswagen να ενώνεται με τις Seat και Skoda. Η τέταρτη ομάδα αποτελείται από τις Man, Scania, τα επαγγελματικά της VW και τις εταιρίες χρηματοπιστωτικών υπηρεσιών του ομίλου.
Οι νέες αυτές ομάδες θα συμβάλουν ώστε το VW Group να γίνει πιο αποδοτικό και αποτελεσματικό στο μέλλον σε όλα τα πεδία, όπως σε θέματα οργάνωσης, παραγωγής και συνεργιών. Η Volkswagen θα παρουσιάσει μια νέα διοικητική δομή με τέσσερις περιοχές, με την κάθε μια να ηγείται από έναν τοπικό CEO ο οποίος και θα δίνει άμεση αναφορά στον Πρόεδρο της μάρκας, Herbert Diess.
Το τμήμα παραγωγής σε επίπεδου Ομίλου, το οποίο ηγείται από τον Thomas Ulbrich καταργείται με άμεση ισχύ. Αυτό είναι επακόλουθο μετά την εκχώρηση των αρμοδιοτήτων των εταιριών ανά περιοχή. Ο εξορθολογισμός του VW Group έχει ως στόχο την μείωση της πολυπλοκότητας του ομίλου, με τον Γερμανικό Κολοσσό να τονίζει πως παρά το Dieselgate δεν θέλει να χάσει χρόνο και έτσι το νέο μοντέλο διαχείρισης θα εφαρμοστεί από τις αρχές του 2016. Μάλιστα υποστηρίζει πως το νέο μοντέλο του δίνει μεγαλύτερη ελευθερία για να αντιμετωπίσει επείγοντα ζητήματα που αφορούν τη στρατηγική, την ανάπτυξη και την πορεία που πρέπει να ακολουθήσει.
Επίσης, το Εποπτικό Συμβούλιο επέκτεινε το συμβόλαιο με του 58-χρονου Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz κατά πέντε έτη, ως μέλος του Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου της Volkswagen AG με ευθύνη για τις δημόσιες συμβάσεις.
Ο 47-χρονος Christian Klingler, μέλος του Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου της Volkswagen και αντιπρόεδρος του τμήματος Πωλήσεων, Μάρκετινγκ & Aftersales της Volkswagen αποχωρεί από την εταιρία με άμεση ισχύ, ως μέρος των μακροπρόθεσμων προγραμματισμένων διαρθρωτικών αλλαγών. Ο νέος Διευθύνων Σύμβουλος Matthias Müller θα διευθύνει το τμήμα Πωλήσεων μέχρι να βρεθεί ο αντικαταστάτης του Klingler.
Ο 54-χρονος Jürgen Stackmann, πρώην πρόεδρος της SEAT, αναλαμβάνει την θέση του Christian Klingler ως μέλος του Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου της Volkswagen και Αντιπροέδρου Πωλήσεων, Μάρκετινγκ & Aftersales. Τον Stackmann διαδέχεται ο 48-χρονος Luca de Meo, επί του παρόντος μέλος του Εκτελεστικός Αντιπρόεδρος Πωλήσεων και Marketing και μέλος του Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου Διαχείρισης της Audi.
Επίσης, η Porsche ανακοίνωσε πως το ο 49χρονος Andreas Haffner αντικαθιστά τον Thomas Edig στη θέση του υπεύθυνου του τμήματος κατασκευής σπορ αυτοκινήτων, διευθύνοντας το τμήμα Ανθρώπινου Δυναμικού. Ο Edig θα παραμείνει εντός ομίλου ως υπεύθυνος για το Ανθρώπινο Δυναμικό και μέλος του διοικητικού συμβουλίου των επαγγελματικών οχημάτων της Volkswagen.
Το εποπτικό συμβούλιο επίσης εξέδωσε ανακοίνωση σχετικά με το σκάνδαλο εκπομπών ρύπων και αφού δηλώνει βαθιά σοκαρισμένο, τονίζει πως εξουσιοδοτήσει τον Πρόεδρο του να αναθέσει δικηγόρους σε Γερμανία και Η.Π.Α για να διερευνήσουν αντικειμενικά και να αποσαφηνίσουν πλήρως τη χειραγώγηση των στοιχείων για τις εκπομπές των κινητήρων ντίζελ.
Επίσης η εκτελεστική επιτροπή του Εποπτικού Συμβουλίου θα αναλάβει τον συντονισμό και τη διαφύλαξη πως θα παρθούν όλα εκείνα τα αναγκαία μέτρα για την παρακολούθηση της πορείας του σκανδάλου μέχρις ότου μια προτεινόμενη επιτροπή θα αρχίζει τις εργασίες της. Επίσης συνέστησε την άμεση αναστολή κάποιων υπαλλήλων με την διαδικασία αυτή να είναι ήδη σε εξέλιξη.
Το Εποπτικό Συμβούλιο αποφάσισε να προτείνει στην Έκτακτη Συνέλευση των Μετόχων στις 9 Νοεμβρίου 2015 να εκλέξουν τον Hans Dieter Pötsch ως μέλος του Εποπτικού Συμβουλίου, με το Εποπτικό Συμβούλιο να προτίθεται να τον εκλέξει στη συνέχεια ως Πρόεδρο του.
Ο Berthold Huber, Αναπληρωτής Πρόεδρος του Εποπτικού Συμβουλίου, δήλωσε:
Η χειραγώγηση των εκπομπών ρύπων είναι μια ηθική και πολιτική καταστροφή για τη Volkswagen. Η παράνομη συμπεριφορά των μηχανικών και τεχνικών που εμπλέκονται στην ανάπτυξη του συγκεκριμένου κινητήρα (2.0 TDI) συγκλόνισε την Volkswagen, όπως ακριβώς και συγκλόνισε και το κοινό. Το μόνο που μπορούμε να πούμε είναι συγνώμη και να ζητήσουμε από τους πελάτες μας, το κοινό, τις αρχές και τους επενδυτές, να μας δώσουν μια ευκαιρία να επανορθώσουμε.
Όπως έμαθες από προχθές, το Εποπτικό Συμβούλιο ανέθεσε στο αμερικάνικο δικηγορικό γραφείο Kirkland & Ellis LLP να την εκπροσωπήσει στις Η.Π.Α. H Volkswagen ανακοίνωσε πως από τα 11 εκατ. αυτοκίνητα του VW Group που φορούν το παράνομο λογισμικό στον κινητήρα της οικογένειας EA 189, τα 5 εκατ. είναι με τα σήματα της. Ορισμένα από αυτά είναι η 6η γενιά του Golf, η 7η γενιά του Passat και η πρώτη γενιά του Tiguan. Τα καινούργια μοντέλα (όπως τα νέα Golf, Passat και Touran) που πληρούν τα πρότυπα Euro 6 δεν επηρεάζονται μιας και φορούν τον νέο EA288 κινητήρα.
Όπως ανέφερε ο Herbert Diess, CEO της Volkswagen, δουλεύουν με πλήρη ταχύτητα για να βρεθεί μια τεχνική λύση που θα παρουσιαστεί στους εταίρους, στους πελάτες και στις αρχές το συντομότερο δυνατό. Στόχος τους είναι να ενημερωθεί το κοινό και τα αυτοκίνητα, όσο το δυνατόν γρηγορότερα, ώστε τα οχήματά τους να συμμορφώνονται πλήρως με τους κανονισμούς. Τόνισε επίσης:
Σας διαβεβαιώνω ότι στη Volkswagen θα κάνουμε ό, τι είναι ανθρωπίνως δυνατό για να ξανακερδίσουκε την εμπιστοσύνη των πελατών μας, των αντιπροσώπων και του κοινού.
Για να διαβάσεις τις τελευταίες εξελίξεις σχετικά με το σκάνδαλο της Volkswagen πάτησε εδώ.
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The Volkswagen Group is restructuring: Supervisory Board passes resolutions for new organization
- Brands and regions to be strengthened
- Vahland moves from Škoda to the Volkswagen brand Board of Management
- De Meo, Maier and Stackmann in new functions
- Board Member for Sales Klingler leaves the Group
- Contract with Board member for Procurement Garcia Sanz extended
The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG approved a new management structure for the Group and the brands as well as for the North America region today (Friday) in Wolfsburg. The interim Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Berthold Huber, commented: “The new structure strengthens the brands and regions, gives the Group Board of Management the necessary leeway for strategy and steering within the company, and lays a focus on the targeted development of future-oriented fields.”
Details of major changes:
Reorganization of the North America region / Successor Prof. Vahland
The Supervisory Board decided on the reorganization of the Group’s activities in North America. The markets in the USA, Mexico, and Canada will be combined and significantly strengthened to form a new North America region. Effective November 1, the Group’s activities in the region will be led by Prof. Dr. Winfried Vahland (58), formerly Chairman of the Board of Directors at Škoda, who in this new role becomes a member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management. Prof. Vahland’s successor as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Škoda will be Bernhard Maier (55), until now Board Member for Sales and Marketing of Porsche AG. Michael Horn (52) remains President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America.
Porsche brand group with Bentley and Bugatti
At Group level the management structure will be oriented even more systematically to the modular toolkits. These toolkits feature standardized technical components for each automotive vehicle segment (volume, premium, sport and commercial vehicles). Consequently, a Porsche brand group with Bentley and Bugatti will be established for the sportscar and mid-engine toolkit. The toolkit strategy will come under the even closer guidance of the Group CEO; a separate department will be set up for this purpose. The Audi brand group with Lamborghini and Ducati will be continued as will the Truck Holding, and the Power Engineering and Financial Services business lines. The volume brands Volkswagen (with principal responsibility for the modular transverse toolkit), SEAT, and Škoda will be represented by one member each in the Group Board of Management.
New Group functions for efficiency and future-oriented fields
Group functions will concentrate more closely on efficiency and future-oriented fields; organizational units, for example for Group product strategy, new business fields, cooperations and holdings, connected car activities, and CO2 steering, will therefore be set up. According to Huber, “new, strong Group functions, such as for standardization and harmonized production processes, will lay the timely foundations for efficient decision-making. We will become faster and more agile.” Furthermore, a Chief Technology Officer will analyze and, if necessary, co-steer technical developments throughout the Group as mandated by the Group Board of Management.
Upgrading of brands and regions
At the same time, existing corporate bodies, structures and processes will be streamlined at Group level, in particular by strengthening the brands and regional accountability. To that end the Volkswagen brand will introduce a management structure with four regions, each led by a local CEO with a direct reporting line to the brand Chairman, Herbert Diess.
Streamlining the Group Board of Management
The production department at Group level, until now led by Thomas Ulbrich in an interim capacity, will be abolished with immediate effect. This is one consequence of delegating responsibility to the brands and regions. Berthold Huber commented: “Going forward, the brands and regions will also have greater independence with regard to production. So it follows that they should also hold the responsibility for these activities.”
The interim Supervisory Board Chairman emphasized that “one key point is that we are scaling back complexity in the Group. In recent weeks, we have already undertaken important steps such as separating Group and brand functions.” He said the developments of the last few days had underscored the urgency of this project: “We will not lose any time. The new management model will be implemented at the beginning of 2016.” This would bring the Board greater freedom to address urgent issues concerning Group strategy, development and steering.
Further Board of Management changes
The Supervisory Board extended the contract with Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz (58), Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for Procurement, by five years.
Christian Klingler (47), member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for Sales and Marketing and member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management with responsibility for Sales and Marketing, is leaving the company with immediate effect as part of long-term planned structural changes and as a result of differences with regard to business strategy. This is not related to recent events. The new CEO Matthias Müller will head the Sales department at Group level in an interim capacity until further notice.
Jürgen Stackmann (54), previously Chairman of SEAT, will take over Christian Klingler’s function as a member of the Volkswagen brand Board of Management. Stackmann is succeeded by Luca de Meo (48), currently Audi AG Board of Management member for Sales and Marketing. These personnel changes become effective from October 1.
Statement by the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG
The Volkswagen Supervisory Board consulted intensively on the current situation at its meeting today. There is absolutely no excuse for the manipulations which have deeply shocked Volkswagen. The company will leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of this, will call those responsible to account, and take the necessary actions. The first consequences in this regard were agreed upon at today’s meeting:
1. The Supervisory Board has authorized the Chairman to mandate German and US lawyers to objectively investigate and fully clarify the manipulation of emissions data of diesel engines.
2. The Executive Committee of the Supervisory Board will be charged with coordinating and safeguarding all necessary steps to monitor clarification until such time as a proposed committee commences its work.
3. With the information currently available the Supervisory Board recommended the immediate suspension of some employees. This process is already underway.
4. Matthias Müller will lead the Volkswagen Group going forward as the new CEO of Volkswagen AG. He is what the company needs now. Matthias Müller is exactly the right man at the right time to make a fresh start and to drive clarification of the current crisis that has hit our company with decisiveness and to draw the right conclusions. We expressly value his critical and constructive approach.
5. The Supervisory Board resolved to propose to the Extraordinary Meeting of Shareholders on November 9, 2015 to elect Mr. Hans Dieter Pötsch as a member of the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board intends to subsequently elect him as its Chairman.
Berthold Huber, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said: “The test manipulations are a moral and political disaster for Volkswagen. The unlawful behavior of engineers and technicians involved in engine development shocked Volkswagen just as much as it shocked the public. We can only apologize and ask our customers, the public, the authorities and our investors to give us a chance to make amends.” The Supervisory Board today commissioned an American law firm to assist in further clarification and in preparing the necessary steps.
Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, explains: “We are working at full speed on a solution.”
In the press release dated September 22, 2015, the Volkswagen Group announced that Volkswagen Group vehicles worldwide are affected by the current issues regarding emissions.
The internal evaluation revealed that approximately five million Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand vehicles are affected worldwide. Certain models and model years of these vehicles (such as the sixth generation Volkswagen Golf, the seventh generation Volkswagen Passat and the first generation Volkswagen Tiguan) are equipped exclusively with type EA 189 diesel engines.
As previously announced, all new Volkswagen Passenger Car brand vehicles that fulfill the EU6 norm valid throughout Europe are not affected. This therefore also includes the current Golf, Passat and Touran models.
Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand stressed: “We are working at full speed on a technical solution that we will present to partners, to our customers and to the public as swiftly as possible. Our aim is to inform our customers as quickly as possible, so that their vehicles comply fully with regulations. I assure you that Volkswagen will do everything humanly possible to win back the trust of our customers, the dealerships and the public.”
The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand will inform all markets worldwide how many of vehicles are affected locally. We are working intensively on remedial measures in close coordination with the certification authorities. The vehicles are and remain technically safe and roadworthy.
Member of Executive Board Human Resources changes at Porsche AG
Thomas Edig hands over to Andreas Haffner
Stuttgart. At today’s meeting of the Supervisory Board of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, Andreas Haffner (49) was appointed successor to Thomas Edig (53) on the Executive Board of the sports car manufacturer. Haffner will head the Human Resources department with effect from October 1, 2015. Edig had been Member of the Executive Board of Porsche AG since May 2007 and also Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board since July 2009. From July 2009 to February 2012, he was also member of the Executive Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Edig will remain within the Group. On October 1, 2015, he will relocate from Stuttgart to Hannover and will be responsible for Human Resources as Member of the Management Board of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
Andreas Haffner moves from the Group headquarters of Volkswagen in Wolfsburg to Zuffenhausen. He has been Head of Group Human Resources Top Management for the past four and a half years and was responsible for the recruitment of all managerial posts. Previously, Haffner worked for 17 years in various managerial positions in Human Resources and Social Affairs at Porsche AG, Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG.
On behalf of the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board, Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG, and Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, thanked Thomas Edig for his services to the sports car manufacturer. Edig not only managed to further develop the special Porsche culture of balancing performance with social issues, he also strengthened the excellent image of the company as an attractive employer. During his period of office, the work force increased from about 11,000 employees in 2007 to almost 25,000 in 2015. Uwe Hück, Chairman of the General and Group Works Council of Porsche AG reaffirmed that “In the last years, we worked well together and introduced important steps to safeguard jobs in 2010 and agreements for the employment market of the future. I wish him all the best for the future and am looking forward to working closely with Andreas Haffner.”
Chairman of the Executive Board Matthias Müller was delighted to have gained an experienced specialist for the Executive Board in the person of Andreas Haffner. The 49 year old lawyer started his career at Porsche AG in 1994 as Head of Labour and Collective Bargaining. Three years later, he took over responsibility for subsidiaries and postings abroad within the Human Resources department. In 2000, he was appointed Head of Human Resources at the Development Centre in Weissach. His additional posts included Head of Human Resources and Organisation at Porsche SE in 2008 and at the beginning of 2011, Head of Group Personnel Top Management International at Volkswagen AG.
Many varied and exciting tasks are now awaiting Haffner at Porsche AG. For instance, the sports car manufacturer is pushing forward with individualised working time and is promoting the appointment of female executives at all corporate levels. In addition future issues within the car industry will require new employees with a modified profile. “In future, we need more young people from the digital world,” said Matthias Müller, “to mastermind future developments in electric mobility and networked vehicle technologies.”
LUCA DE MEO, NEW CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF SEAT, S.A.
- De Meo replaces Jürgen Stackmann who will join Volkswagen brand, as Vice-President of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales of Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand
- Both are scheduled to take up their position as 1st November 2015
Martorell, 25/09/2015. – Luca de Meo (Milan, 1967), currently Executive Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG has been appointed as new Chairman of the Executive Committee of SEAT, S.A. He will be replacing Jürgen Stackmann (1961), appointed to the position of Vice-President of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales of Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, reporting to Dr. Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Volkswagen brand. Both are scheduled to take up their position as 1st November 2015.
Luca de Meo graduated in Business Administration at the Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi di Milano and has more than 20 years experience in the automotive sector. He started his career in Renault, before moving to Toyota Europe and then joined Fiat Group, where he headed the brands Lancia, Fiat and Alfa Romeo. He entered the Volkswagen Group in 2009 as head of Marketing for both Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand and Volkswagen Group, before taking the position of Board member for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG in 2012. He is also a member of the Supervisory boards of Ducati and Lamborghini and Chairman of the board of Volkswagen Group Italia.
Jürgen Stackmann has headed SEAT since May 2013. He has successfully led the repositioning of the SEAT brand on the European market and brought back SEAT on the path to success. Dr. Francisco Javier García Sanz, Chairman of SEAT Supervisory Board and Member of the Executive Committee of Volkswagen Group: “I want to express my pride in the work done in the last 2.5 years by Jürgen Stackmann at the head of SEAT brand. The company has achieved an outstanding sales growth of 22% in the last 2 years in difficult market conditions and the trend stays positive with a 7% growth since the beginning of 2015. The best-selling model is the SEAT Leon, contributing to a major improvement of SEAT operating result. SEAT is clearly on the road to sustainable success.”
On top of strong sales achievements, Jürgen Stackmann and the SEAT leadership team have developed a clear road map for the brand for the next years. Dr. García Sanz:“This new appointment doesn’t change the agreed strategy or the direction of the SEAT brand. We believe that the plan in place will achieve a sustainable growth for SEAT in the future. The trust of the Volkswagen Group is confirmed by the recent announcement of a 3.3 billion euros expenditures plan in R&D and installations.”
Luca de Meo has been personally selected by Dr. García Sanz to follow Jürgen Stackmann as SEAT leader. “I am fully confident that Luca de Meo will successfully implement and continue to evolve the projects already initiated to achieve the turnaround of the brand in the near future”, says Dr. García Sanz.
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