ddp images / Sven Simon
Bram Schot has to wait another few weeks for his appointment as permanent Audi boss
The decision should reassure a company that has been insecure for months. But the plan went completely wrong. On Thursday, as it was often said, should Audis Members of the Supervisory Board appoint the current head of the interim Bram Schot as Chief Executive Officer. The control committee met as planned – and adjourned the decision on Schots fixed contract first.
“There is no result from the Supervisory Board meeting to report,” said a company spokesman. It was said in the run-up to the meeting that all decision-makers Schot wanted to quickly appoint as CEO of Audi AG.
Reason for the adjournment, it is to hear from group circles, were formalities – the more essential, but not exactly inconspicuous kind. They are related to the power structure in the VolkswagenGroup: The long-standing, temporarily detained Audi CEO Rupert Stadler also sat on the board of the parent company Volkswagen. Only in the spring had Stadler in the most important decision-making body of the group the responsibility for the group sales received.
Audi CEO also moves into VW board
Schot, according to the group, should have joined the board of the Volkswagen Group in addition to his appointment as Audi CEO. But it would also have needed a corresponding resolution of the Volkswagen Supervisory Board – which the authorities allegedly noticed too late. Yet another reason was cited in Group circles: In Schots firm order as Audi CEO then also the post of the Audi Marketing Board is free, the sheet was previously held. These three things – ie Schots firm contract as Audi boss, his entry into the Volkswagen Board and the replacement of the Audi Marketing Board – would rather be done at the same time as a slice.
Actually, the time is pressing when ordering a fixed Audi boss
It does not matter for a few days, it says, but the decisions should fall just before Christmas. Schot was appointed provisional Audi chief in June 2018, after the long-time Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was imprisoned. Since then, the 57-year-old Dutch-born manages the luxury brand as interim head. His employees do not give him the feeling of being seen as an interim solution, he explained in an interview with manager magazin premium,
More: “We can also be proud”: Audi boss Bram Schot on his leadership style
Stadler retired out of all offices in October, VW had wooed BMW purchasing director Markus Duesmann in July, he was initially considered a promising candidate for the chief post in Ingolstadt. But BMW does not release Duesmann yet, and he is still bound by contract for two years. Therefore, Schot should now get a contract until the end of 2021, it was said before the Supervisory Board meeting.
The fact that the appointment of Schot to the firm Audi boss did not work in the first attempt, should look a bit strange for the 80,000 Audi employees internally, according to the group. Because after the last turbulent months, the luxury brand actually needs a strong lead as soon as possible. The future Audi CEO must first calm down the excitement in the company and give the brand back a clearer direction. In addition, the diesel scandal at Audi is not over yet: So are the Ingolstadt with software updates in arrears. The changeover to the new WLTP test cycle has given Audi serious delivery problems, and the Chinese business is not running so well any more.
So there are a lot of construction sites for the new Audi boss. But Schot has to be patient for the coming weeks.
with material from dpa