German FAZ: VW boss Oliver Blume gives up dual role010102

The CEO of VW, Oliver Blume, who previously also held the top position at the subsidiary Porsche, is to give up his leadership role at Porsche from next year. According to a report in the “Bild” newspaper, the sports car manufacturer Porsche will have its own boss. A name is not yet known. The supervisory board wants to vote on the personnel details as soon as possible, it is said. Blume has been at the helm of the two listed companies for three years. In the fall of 2015, the manager became CEO of Porsche. Shortly before the sports car subsidiary went public, he replaced Herbert Diess as head of Volkswagen in September 2022. Blume had already expressed several times in interviews that he wanted to give up his dual role in 2026. “I have always said: My dual role is not designed to last forever,” Blume recently told the German Press Agency. The constellation was deliberately chosen – and brings enormous advantages in the restructuring of the group: “To be responsible for the technology, for the processes in a company, to be deeply involved in the operational business there. And also to make the right, strategic decisions at a higher level in the Volkswagen Group.”More on the topicThere has been speculation for months about Blume’s departure from Porsche. Also because there have recently been several changes in the management of the sports and off-road vehicle manufacturer. “We have already consciously begun the generational change at Porsche. It was prepared for the long term,” said Blume. The management team is strong and rooted in the Porsche culture. Shareholder representatives have long been very critical of Blume’s dual role. Not only because of the huge workload, but also because of possible conflicts of interest. They repeatedly ask the manager to decide whether to run a corporation. For example, Hendrik Schmidt from the fund provider DWS criticized the fact that Porsche and Volkswagen were the only listed companies in Germany that had a “part-time CEO”.
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