Berlin. In fall 2022, the Volkswagen Group laid the foundation for the fundamental transformation of Volkswagen to become a leader in digital and fully electric mobility with its 10-point plan.
One focus of Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume is on strengthening the brands by means of attractive vehicles, quality and design. In order to consistently pursue this goal, Volkswagen Group is continuing to strengthen the brands, also in terms of personnel. As part of this, there will be personnel changes at CARIAD SE, Bentley Motors Ltd, Volkswagen AG, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen Group Components from September 1, 2023.
Gunnar Kilian, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Human Resources and Truck & Bus: “We will further expand the competitiveness of our Group and accelerate the transformation. We are now also continuing to lay the groundwork for this in terms of personnel. The appointed colleagues will further strengthen customer orientation, entrepreneurship and team spirit in the brands. Their experience and excellent know-how will be both their tool and their compass.”
Personnel changes as of September 1, 2023
CARIAD SE
Dr. André Stoffels, First Vice President (Finance) FAW-VW Automotive will be the new Chief Financial Officer of CARIAD SE. He succeeds Dr. Thomas Sedran, who will take on other responsibilities within the Group. Following the appointment of Peter Bosch as the new CARIAD CEO as of June 1, 2023, this is now the next step in the realignment of the Volkswagen Software subsidiary.
Bentley Motors Ltd.
Peter Bosch will be succeeded as Member of the Board for Manufacturing at Bentley Motors Ltd. by Andreas Lehe, the current Head of Strategic Planning for the business division Production & Logistics of AUDI AG.
Volkswagen AG
Simon Bracco, Head of Corporate Quality at AUDI AG, additionally will take over as Head of Group Quality at Volkswagen AG on September 1. He succeeds Michael Neumayer, who is retiring. Dr. Stefan Weckbach, currently Head of the Mission X series at Porsche AG, will take over as Head of Group Strategy, Group Product Strategy and General Secretariat of Volkswagen AG on September 1, 2023. He will succeed Dr. Gernot Döllner, who will become the new CEO of AUDI AG on the same date.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen Group Components
Dr. Astrid Fontaine’s successor as Member of the Board for Human Resources at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will be Wolfgang Fueter, the current Chief Human Resources Officer of Volkswagen Group Components. Dr. Astrid Fontaine will take up new responsibilities in Human Resources at Volkswagen Group. As of September 1, Wolfgang Fueter will be succeeded as Chief Human Resources Officer of Volkswagen Group Components by Dr. Anika Stappenbeck, who will transfer from Skoda Auto a.s.
Additional information
Dr. André Stoffels, after studying electrical engineering and earning his doctorate in engineering, began his career in 1996 at the management consultancy McKinsey & Company before moving to AUDI AG in Ingolstadt in 2004. After holding several senior positions in strategy and finance, including at Volkswagen Group España Distribución and Ducati, he became First Vice President (Finance) FAW-VW Automotive in 2019.
Andreas Lehe began his career with an apprenticeship as an electroplater and a course of study in materials science/surface technology at Aalen University of Applied Sciences. Lehe then started as a planner in the Surface Process Chain project at AUDI AG in Neckarsulm in 1994. He moved to Ingolstadt in 1996, where he held various management positions in production and logistics until 2017. From 2017 to 2018, he was responsible for the management of production and logistics at AUDI MÉXICO. From 2019, he served as CEO of AUDI MÉXICO. In 2020, he took over as Head of Strategic Planning of the business unit Production & Logistics of AUDI AG in Ingolstadt. In his new role as Member of the Board for Manufacturing at Bentley Motors Ltd. he will report to Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark in the future.
Simon Bracco began training as an industrial clerk at Schenk GmbH in 1997. In 1999, he moved to Porsche AG, where he successfully completed his training at the end of 2000. From 2001, he worked in sales as a clerk for Porsche AG at the Ludwigsburg site. Between 2004 and 2006, he was responsible for the Carrera GT project in Zuffenhausen and Leipzig and subsequently took on other management functions at Porsche AG. In 2012, he moved to Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg and took over as Head of Group Recourse in 2015. In 2019, Bracco moved to Technical Development at AUDI AG and was responsible for managing Technical Development Control from 2020 to 2023. From September 2020, he headed the series for vehicles in the B & C segment at Audi. Since June 2023, Simon Bracco has been Head of Corporate Quality at AUDI AG. On September 1, he additionally will take over as Head of Group Quality at Volkswagen AG from Michael Neumayer, who is retiring.
Dr. Stefan Weckbach began his career at a management consultancy after studying and subsequently earning his doctorate at the University of St. Gallen. In 2008, Weckbach moved to Porsche. This was followed by positions in corporate strategy, executive assistant to the Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG and head of the executive Board office, head of product strategy and the Boxster/Cayman model series. In 2016, Weckbach took over as head of the Taycan model series, in 2021 the Cayenne model series and has been head of the Mission X model series since 2022. In his new role as Head of Group Strategy, Group Product Strategy and the General Secretariat of Volkswagen AG, he will report to the Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Dr. Oliver Blume.
Dr. Astrid Fontaine began her career at Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart, where she held various management positions in corporate strategy. From 2000, she was responsible for digitalization and IT at Mercedes-Benz USA, first as General Manager, then as Chief Information Officer. In 2013, she joined Porsche North America as Senior Vice President for Human Resources, Culture and Innovation, and has taught as Professor of Digital Enterprise at Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia, USA). From 2018, she was the Executive Vice President for Human Resources, Digitalization and IT at Bentley Motors Ltd. in England, before becoming a Member of the Board for Human Resources at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in 2021. Dr. Astrid Fontaine will take up new responsibilities in Human Resources at Volkswagen Group.
Wolfang Fueter studied political science in Lausanne and began his career in 1995 as HR Manager at Procter & Gamble in Geneva and Saudi Arabia. In 2000, he moved to the World Economic Forum as Associate Director Human Resources before joining the Volkswagen Group as Head of Group Talents Planning & Development in 2003. After holding various management positions in Human Resources, Fueter was appointed to the Board of Management of Volkswagen Group Components, responsible for Human Resources in 2019. As of September 1, Wolfgang Fueter will become the new Member of the Board for Human Resources at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Hanover.
Dr. Anika Stappenbeck began her career in 2010 at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg in Technical Development. In 2012, the graduate industrial engineer moved to Technical Development at FAW-VW Automotive in Changchun, China. In 2015, Dr. Anika Stappenbeck returned to Wolfsburg and took on various and, from 2018, leading functions in Group Human Resources Top Management. In 2021, Dr. Anika Stappenbeck moved to Skoda Auto a.s. to take over as Head of Management Care and Employer Branding. On September 1, she will become Member of the Board for Human Resources at Volkswagen Group Components in Wolfsburg.
SOURCE: Volkswagen Group
