Herbert Diess
According to insiders, he barely escaped a layoff, but lost the position as head of the main VW brand, which he held alongside his duties as group leader.
Düsseldorf After the turmoil of the past few weeks and speculation about a possible replacement Volkswagen-Boss Herbert Diess received unusual backing from the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board. CFO Frank Witter read out on Thursday at the beginning of a conference call with journalists to present the quarterly figures a statement in which the top management the battered CEO express their trust.
He brought the most recent changes in management in connection with the ongoing restructuring of the group. It is not always easy to reconcile the interests of everyone involved. “With the new management team, we are well prepared,” said the CFO. “Rauch from Wolfsburg” is also a sign of the intense struggle for positive changes in the company, even if this sometimes involves personnel changes.
However, it is not acceptable that a lot of internal information is forced out. That harms the company in every respect, emphasized Witter. The CFO has decades in Volkswagen group spent and always urges to be loyal to the company.
“But the most important message is that the Supervisory Board and the Management Board … are completely in agreement that our CEO Herbert Diess is in the lead in implementing our strategy,” continued Witter. He also added: “Believe me, nothing has changed in his ambition and drive for quick and sustainable change.”
Witter thus explicitly personally confessed himself to Herbert Diess, the CEO. Two and a half years ago, the CFO was one of the critics of Diess. At the time, he expressed criticism, albeit only internally, of how Diess had displaced his predecessor Matthias Müller from the post of VW CEO.
Witter, 61, had already announced months ago that he would be stepping down from the Executive Board in the coming year. The corona crisis has unexpectedly given him a lot of extra work. Witter now also heads the purchasing department temporarily, since Stefan Sommer had given up his post at the end of June. A successor is still being sought.
CEO Diess had had to apologize to the supervisory body at the beginning of June after his massive criticism of alleged indiscretions from the supervisory board. He barely escaped his dismissal, but lost the position of chief of the main brand VW, which he held besides his duties as the chief executive of the group. After that, the back of the chairs also picked up speed with other brands of the group. Numerous managers have been replaced or relocated.
In the opinion of group experts, it remains to be seen whether Diess was able to strengthen its position as a result. However, he apparently is betting that Volkswagen will get new impetus for the conversion to a leading provider of electric vehicles, new mobility services and self-driving cars through new appointments. Works council chief Bernd Osterloh, most recently one of the biggest critics of Diess, has meanwhile once again struck a friendlier tone towards the chief executive.
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