Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen (OTC: VWAPY), announced this past Friday that he would be following through with his decision to leave the company. Current CEO of Porsche, Oliver Blume, will overtake Diess' role at the start of September.
Volkswagen chairman Hans Dieter Potsch expressed his gratitude to Diess in a written statement for partaking in the advancement of the company as a whole. "Not only did he steer the company through extremely turbulent waters, but he also implemented a fundamentally new strategy," Potsch remarked.
Diess commented in an interview with The Verge's editor-in-chief, Nilay Patel, that he believed his role as CEO of Volkswagen differed from more traditional CEO roles at other automotive companies. "It is complex, and you need more alignment and a lot of discussion," Diess commented. "It doesn't allow for random decisions because you have to defend your case as a shared interest in the future of the company."
While Diess was CEO of Volkswagen, he made many developments that many would gloss over. He took the job as CEO of Volkswagen in 2018, and has attempted to push the company toward electric vehicles and the establishment of software within vehicles. Even so, he received mixed reviews, as he mentioned thousands of possible job losses, since he intended to shift over to the usage of electric vehicles.
It has been disputed among many people that Diess' position and influence as CEO of Volkswagen was quite weak. One reason is that Diess partook of a scandal that involved the installation of cheat devices in millions of vehicles, for which he was almost prosecuted. Diess' replacement, Blume, will likely be expected to pick up where Diess left off, and to establish the company as an entity that has undergone significant transformation and improvements.
As he moves into his new position, Blume will receive at least some guidance. Volkswagen's chief financial officer, Arno Antlitz, will assume the role of chief operating officer in order to aid Blume with his forthcoming duties.