The Volkswagen Group has named Ralf Brandstätter as the VW brand’s new CEO, effective from 1 July 2020.

VW Group boss Herbert Diess, who had previously been responsible for both functions, will therefore “receive greater leeway for his tasks as Group CEO”. However, within the Group board of management, he will retain “overall responsibility for Volkswagen Passenger Cars and the volume brand group”.

The Wolfsburg-based firm’s core brand will be led by its previous chief operating officer, Brandstätter.

“Ralf Brandstätter is one of the company’s most experienced managers. Over the past two years, he has already led Volkswagen successfully as COO and played a key role in shaping the transformation of the brand,” said Diess.

“I am therefore very pleased that Ralf Brandstätter will be forging ahead with the development of the brand as CEO following the far-reaching strategic decisions of the past few years.”

Brandstätter takes over as VW embarks on a “broad-based electric offensive” and says the “course towards the future has been set”.

“The brand is developing into one of the leading providers of carbon-neutral mobility and is on the way to becoming a digital technology company. I would like to thank the entire Volkswagen team for their tremendous commitment. We will follow our path resolutely together,” said Brandstätter.

Brandstätter was born in Brunswick on 8 September 1968. After training as a shopfitter at the VW plant in Brunswick, he studied industrial engineering and joined the Volkswagen Group in 1993.

Following positions in international project steering in the procurement division, he became an assistant to the board of management in the general secretariat of Volkswagen AG. In 1998, he took charge of metal procurement for chassis and powertrain components and was made project manager for new vehicle projects in 2003.

In 2005, he moved to Spain as head of procurement at Seat. He became the member of the Seat executive committee responsible for purchasing three years later, before being named head of group procurement exterior in 2010.

He was appointed head of group purchasing new product launches in 2012 and was made a general representative of Volkswagen AG in October 2015. Brandstätter was appointed a member of the board of management of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand in December 2015 and has been chief operating officer of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand since 1 August 2018.

Original article from Car