From next September 1st, Oliver Blume will replace Herbert Diess at the top of the Volkswagen group. The 54-year-old mechanical engineer will not have an easy task but has a long professional experience
Volkswagen files Herbert Diess, which from next September 1st leave office as president of the German group, in his place Oliver Blume, currently number one of Porsche. A blow as unexpected as it is significant, Diess leaves the scene after having reached a “friendly” agreement with the company and closes a chapter that collects recent history, from Dieselgate to the electrification of the brands that belong to Volkswagen. The task that awaits Blume is not easy, because the unexpected rotation implies that the waters are not very calm in the Wolfsburg area and, therefore, that discontinuity is expected from the next leader. The current CEO of Porsche has different characteristics from Diess, one above all: he grew professionally within the Volkswagen group without provenire from the ranks of the competition, while his predecessor has “sinned” several times of admiration for BMW, his former employer.
ADMISSION TO AUDI
–
Born on 6 June 1968 in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Blume graduated in mechanical engineering from the university in his hometown. The starting point of his career in the Volkswagen group is the participation in an international internship organized by Audi, a brand of which two years later he became a designer specializing in the definition of bodywork and the definition of paintwork. In 1999 he was given responsibility for the development of the body of the Audi A3, two years later he was executive assistant in the production of the ring brand. After his PhD in vehicle technology, he moved to the Seat brand, remaining within the group’s perimeter, managing production planning, a role he has held for Volkswagen since 2009.
THE TRANSITION TO PORSCHE
–
In 2013 he moved to Porsche (controlled by Volkswagen) as a member of the executive committee with responsibility for production and logistics. In 2015 the supervisory committee entrusted him with the task of CEO of Porsche to replace Matthias Müller, called to the top of the Volkswagen group and abruptly replaced in 2018 with Herbert Diess. The same jump that Blume is about to make, hoping for a better landing.
July 24, 2022 (change July 24, 2022 | 10:02 am)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED