According to a report by the Reuters news agency, future Volkswagen boss Oliver Blume (54) is considering downsizing the group’s board of directors. The company management, which had swelled to twelve members under his predecessor Herbert Diess (63), had proven to be too large and difficult to coordinate, several people familiar with the considerations told Reuters. “Some things should be reconsidered with the dual functions,” explained one of the insiders.
The group announced three weeks ago that Oliver Blume This will detach. He will lead the group from the beginning of September in a personal union with the VW subsidiary Porsche AG. According to the Reuters report, the number of board departments could drop to eight or nine. But that has not yet been decided. Neither Volkswagen and Porsche nor the main shareholder Porsche SE wanted to comment on this.
According to group circles, the core team around Blume includes CFO Arno Antlitz, Human Resources and Truck Board Member Gunnar Kilian, Chief Legal Officer Manfred Döss and Thomas Schäfer, who heads the important brand group volume from VW, Skoda and Seat. Markus Duesmann, who heads the premium group with Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley and the motorcycle manufacturer Ducati, is also considered set.
Management posts for sales and purchasing wobble
According to Reuters, there are question marks behind the departments of Purchasing Manager Murat Aksel and Sales Manager Hildegard Wortmann. “One can question why a purchasing director for the VW passenger car brand must also be represented on the group board,” said one of the insiders. The same probably applies to Wortmann, who, in addition to Audi, also heads the group’s sales department.
The new CEO Oliver Blume himself is likely to hand over responsibility for production to the group board of directors in order to have more freedom for his tasks at the top of the group. The insiders said it has not yet been decided who will take on the task and whether it will remain at the board level.
According to company sources, the supervisory board is to meet at the end of September for its next regular meeting. By then, Blume wants to have his management team together.