Diess successor: Oliver Blume
Image: Porsche
The entrepreneurial dynasty that rules Volkswagen has chosen a new boss. Oliver Blume succeeds Herbert Diess. His first assignment: the mega IPO of Porsche. But there are problems.
There was something strangely inappropriate about the end of Herbert Diess’ career as head of the world’s largest car company. The Austrian with his uncontrollable temperament rocked the headquarters of the Wolfsburg Volkswagen Group for seven years. He quarreled on the open stage until shreds flew, with works councils, supervisory boards and fellow board members. Diess, 61, was about to be kicked out at least four times. And the battles were always fought in public, sometimes for weeks. The dramas presented by Volkswagen were unparalleled on German executive floors.
Marcus Theurer
Editor in the economy of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.
consequences
I follow
The end that has now overtaken him did not fit in at all. It was very different. Professional, cool and without any prior leaks, Diess was dumped last week. The supervisory board had previously needed less than an hour to decide on the matter. The eviction press release contained no bad word about the evicted man and no explanation. No fight, no drama. Instead, there is talk of a “generational change”. It’s as if a managerial employee was scheduled to go into well-deserved retirement when he reached retirement age.