AUDI AG is further reinforcing the digitalization of its sales organization: on 1 July 2021, the IT and software expert Michael Kranz will take over as head of Digital Experience and Business at the Four Rings. He succeeds Sven Schuwirth, who is moving within the Volkswagen Group to be the new Director of Digital Business and Product Strategy at SEAT from July.
“I am delighted to have gained in Michael Kranz a highly experienced expert for this forward-looking task,” says Hildegard Wortmann, Board Member for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG. “In the current transformation of the automotive industry, digitalization of the customer experience is a key driver of future business success.”
The customer experience is the focus of the Digital Experience and Business department at Audi. Through digital solutions, the company is creating an all-round experience of premium mobility that fits seamlessly into the digital everyday life of customers. The department concentrates especially on services in and around the car, on new mobility services and digital sales, as well as on establishing a digital ecosystem. “For this purpose, Michael Kranz contributes exactly the right experience and excellent know-how,” says Wortmann.
Kranz’s last position was Chief Information Officer and Head of Digital Solutions at ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG. There he had been responsible since 2011 for the departments Digitalization and Information Technology, networking IT processes and structures, and embedding them into the corporate strategy. For him, the targeted application of software and promotion of interdisciplinary cooperation are the key components of a successful digital transformation. “Effective digitalization starts with a focus on the customer. It relies on the thorough-going integration of platforms and data, and is most successful with enthusiastic teams. I am greatly looking forward to contributing my experience in this forward-looking area at Audi,” says Kranz.
His professional career began in 1996 at the automotive supplier LuK, where he was Head of IT at the site in Bühl and subsequently Head of Global IT. In 2004 Kranz moved to Krones AG, which manufactures components and plants for drinks and food. As Head of Information Management he was responsible for IT departments worldwide and extended the company’s customer orientation.
Sven Schuwirth took over responsibility for the department Digital Experience and Business at the Four Rings in 2019. He expanded myAudi, the key to the digitally networked world of the company, reshaped the website experience, digitalized aftersales, established the Audi Commerce Platform, remodeled the Audi Business Innovation GmbH, and introduced an agile working model.
Schuwirth began his professonal career in 1999 at Audi, and was later responsible for brand development, corporate identity, brand, sales and portfolio strategy, and for digital business.
As Director of Digital Business and Product Strategy at SEAT in Barcelona he will take on a responsible task in an international environment on 1 July. Hildegard Wortmann says “I would like to thank Sven Schuwirth for his many years of work for the Four Rings and wish him every success in his new position. I am sure that he will be able to build well on his extensive experience.”