The former Porsche-CFO Lutz Meschke (59) will end his role on the board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE (Porsche SE) in December 2025. The Stuttgart car manufacturer announced this on Tuesday evening. A successor has not been named: According to the announcement, the head of Porsche SE, Hans Dieter Pötsch (74), will take over responsibility for the investment management department, which Meschke was previously responsible for, in addition to his existing tasks. The board of Porsche SE will thus shrink to three members: Hans Dieter Pötsch, Manfred Döss (67, law) and Johannes Lattwein (52, finance and IT).
The accompanying words of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board Wolfgang Porsche (82) sound like a good separation: “The Supervisory Board expressly thanks Lutz Meschke for his special commitment in recent years as well as his significant contribution to the successful expansion of investment management and the positioning of Porsche SE as a diversified investment platform,” explained the major shareholder according to the press release.
But the departure was preceded by a lengthy dispute, with some in the company calling it a power struggle. Meschke was CFO of Porsche AG for a good 15 years until spring 2025. Many saw him as the natural successor in the event that CEO Oliver Blume (57) gives up his position in Stuttgart and concentrates fully on his job as CEO of Volkswagen AG. Only: the two ended up falling out. Meschke had to resign from his position and Michael Leiters will become the new boss of Porsche AG at the beginning of 2026.
However, to the surprise of many in Stuttgart, Meschke remained on the board of Porsche SE. The family, which owns all voting rights and 50 percent of the holding’s shares, stuck with Meschke and even gave him a new five-year contract until the end of June 2030.
However, the peace did not last long. Meschke’s departure was preceded by a dispute over Porsche SE’s shareholdings. The listed one is for example, interested in Volkswagen AG’s heavy engine subsidiary, Everllence
. According to information from manager magazin, Meschke was considered an aggressive supporter of new investments. SE CFO Lattwein, on the other hand, wants to keep the money together and protect the holding company in the event that the financial problems at Volkwagen and Porsche AG worsen.
The differences between Meschke and Lattwein had recently become more and more visible; it was leading to a “bang”, reported manager magazine at the end of November
. The big bang has now happened: At the end of the year, Meschke will also lose his position as board member of the holding company Porsche SE.