Executive
-
BMW will soon execute an executive shuffle: on August 1, Ludwig Willich, Head of BMW Group Region Americas, will retire after 21 years with the German automaker. Ludwig has managed all sales, marketing, and distribution activities from Canada to Argentina since 2011. He also held the title of President and CEO of BMW of North America until March of this year, when he handed the reins to executive Bernhardt Kuhnt. Through his tenure, Willisch has overseen major growth for the BMW brand and over five million cars have been sold under his leadership. The amateur racer always let his passion for...
-
Ex-Ferrari F1 Boss Stefano Domenicali Named Lamborghini CEO
Lamborghini’s current CEO Stephan Winkelmann will step down from the Italian performance brand next month to take up a new role as head of Quattro, the performance division of Lamborghini’s parent company Audi. Replacing Winkelmann will be Stefano Domenicali who is most famous for...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mercedes Extends CEO’s Contract, Appoints New R&D Chief
Mercedes-Benz is currently enjoying its best sales ever and this in turn has led to record profits for parent company Daimler. The German auto giant recorded net profit of 8.9 billion euros (approximately $9.8 billion) in 2015, which was up a staggering 23 percent on results just one year prior...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Jost Capito Leaves VW Motorsport To Head McLaren F1 Team
The McLaren Formula One team, officially McLaren Honda, has announced Jost Capito as its new CEO. He replaces caretaker CEO Jonathan Neale who will fill the new role of COO. Eric Boullier remains racing director. McLaren hasn’t had a standard team principal position since early 2014 when Ron...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Hyundai Puts Former Lamborghini Exec In Charge Of Genesis Luxury Division
Having recently announced the new luxury brand Genesis, Hyundai has now named the person who will lead it. That person is former Lamborghini executive Manfred Fitzgerald. In his previous role, Fitzgerald served as Director of Brand and Design, helping to transform Lamborghini’s image from...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ian Callum Tells The Story Of How He Became A Designer: Video
Ian Callum has been responsible for some of the most beautiful cars on the roads over the last few decades, with most of his career actually spent with Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F], though most will likely recognize his more recent efforts at Aston Martin and Jaguar. Some of his most impressive...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
The Daimler AG board a management today announced that 47-year-old Dietmar Exler will take over as President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA and NAFTA effective January 1, 2016. He replaces Steve Canon, who is leaving to become CEO of AMB Group, LLC, which owns the Atlanta Falcons NFL team, the Atlanta Falcons Stadium Company, Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer, the PGA Tour Superstore, and the Mountain Sky Guest Ranch. Exler comes to the CEO role through the company's financial and marketing channels. Since January 2014, he has been vice president of sales for MBUSA. ALSO SEE: BMW...
-
VW Group Names New Design, R&D Chiefs In Management Reshuffle
In the wake of its diesel emissions cheating scandal, the Volkswagen Group is undertaking a number of strategies to help curtail spending as well as ensure mistakes like the installation of the “defeat device” doesn’t happen again. This includes streamlining information directed...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Lamborghini CEO To Be Replaced By Ex-Ferrari F1 Boss: Report
Reports out of Italy claim Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann is about to be replaced by former Ferrari [NYSE:RACE] Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali. Some readers will recall that Domenicali, 50, joined Lamboghini’s parent company Audi almost immediately after resigning from Ferrari in...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi R&D chief steps down amid emissions cheating scandal
Audi R&D boss Ulrich Hackenberg has announced his resignation amid the automaker’s emissions cheating scandal where a number of Audi models, including some here in the United States, were fitted with a device to hide the true level of their emissions from regulators. Hackenberg, one of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Klaus Zellmer Named Chief Of Porsche Cars North America
Porsche Cars North America has a new chief following the reshuffle of senior managers at many Volkswagen Group brands as a result of the automaker’s diesel emissions scandal. The new chief is Klaus Zellmer, who takes over from Detlev von Platen on November 1, 2015. ALSO SEE: VW Doubles Down...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Oliver Blume Named CEO Of Porsche
Sports car manufacturer Porsche from today will be led by Oliver Blume. The 47-year-old was previously in charge of production and logistics and was promoted to the top job following last week’s announcement that Matthias Müller, Blume’s predecessor, is to lead the Volkswagen Group...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Last week, as part of the fallout from the developing dirty diesel scandal, the Volkswagen Group announced a company restructuring designed to delegate more responsibility to the brand's core platforms. Part of the administrative shift involved the creation of a new North America Region comprising the United States, Mexico and Canada. And today, Volkswagen's Supervisory Board announced that former Skoda Auto CEO Winfried Vahland will become President and CEO of Volkswagen NAR effective November 1st, 2015. ALSO SEE: Cramming A $4.5M Lamborghini Veneno Into A Transport Truck: Video Vahland...
-
VW Group Names Matthias Müller As CEO, Announces Restructuring
In a widely expected move, the Volkswagen Group has announced that current Porsche chief Matthias Müller will take over as group CEO. No replacement for his role at Porsche has been named, and Müller will helm both companies until a successor is appointed. He has previously served as Head...
John Coyle -
Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn resigns in wake of diesel emissions scandal
Volkswagen Group has announced that CEO Martin Winterkorn has resigned, effective immediately. The announcement comes just days after the news broke that the company had used software to fool emissions measuring equipment both in the United States and abroad. READ: VW Diesel Troubles Could Become...
John Coyle -
Google Hires Former Hyundai U.S. Chief To Head Autonomous Car Project
Google’s autonomous car project now has its own CEO in the form of auto industry veteran John Krafcik. The 53-year-old has previously worked for the Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] as well as Hyundai where he ran operations in the United States from 2008 to 2013. Most recently he was working for...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
CFO Hans Dieter Pötsch To Become New Volkswagen Group Chairman
Volkswagen Group senior managers have nominated the automaker’s current CFO, Austrian Hans Dieter Pötsch, to become the new chairman of the overarching supervisory board that represents the shareholders, a position left vacant after the shock resignation of longstanding chairman...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Sergio Marchionne To Be Named CEO Of Ferrari?
About a month ago, reports emerged claiming longstanding Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa had resigned and that a search was on for his replacement. It’s now being reported that Sergio Marchionne, already chairman of Ferrari as well as CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles [NYSE:FCAU], may step in to...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Acura has confirmed that it has appointed Jon Ikeda as its new chief, just as the brand prepares for the launch of its crucial second-generation NSX supercar. Former chief Mike Accavitti, a Chrysler veteran who only joined Honda in 2011 in a marketing role before being promoted to the head of the upmarket Acura division in 2014, has left the company, the reasons for which are not clear at present. Though Acura’s sales performance has waned in recent years, things were starting to turn around. Last year, Acura sales grew 1.5 percent to 167,843 units in the United States, and for the...
-
Former Chrysler Quality Chief Heads To Apple As Rumors Fly
The Apple car rumors are officially in full swing right now. Well, they've been in full swing for a a little bit now, but that swing just got a nice big push. According to the Detroit Free Press, Apple has recently hired Doug Betts, who was formerly a quality chief at Chrysler. This is pretty big...
Jeff Glucker -
Even Honda’s CEO Is Waiting To Buy A Civic Type R
When Takahiro Hachigo moved back to Japan in March to be the new CEO of Honda, after the previous CEO Takanobu Ito stepped down amid slowing sales and the ongoing Takata airbag fiasco, he was without a car. Rather than pick up a car straight away, however, Hachigo decided to wait so that he could...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Giugiaro Quits Giugiaro: Automotive Design Icon Exits Company
Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Italian master behind iconic designs like Alfa Romeo's Giulia Sprint GTV, the DeLorean DMC-12 and the Lotus Esprit has resigned from Italdesign Giugiaro, Automotive News (subscription required) is reporting. The quiet departure closes the door on one of the most celebrated...
John Coyle -
PT Cruiser Designer Bryan Nesbitt To Lead Buick Design
Bryan Nesbitt, most famous for his work on the Chrysler PT Cruiser, has returned to the States to head up Buick’s design team. The American spent the last four years leading the design team at General Motors Company’s [NYSE:GM] International Operations, based in Shanghai, China, and is...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Bentley Hires Stefan Sielaff As New Design Chief
Bentley has named Stefan Sielaff as its new design chief. The German designer is a Volkswagen Group man, having previously led design at Audi and more recently serving as head of interior design for all group brands as well as head of the Volkswagen Design Center in Potsdam, Germany. He replaces...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran