The announced change at the top of the Volkswagen brand takes shape. Thomas Schäfer will be the new CEO of the Wolfsburg-based brandin a whirlwind of appointments that will lead Ralf Brandstätter to head the Chinese division of VW and Klaus Zellmer to take on the role of CEO of Skoda left vacant by Schäfer. Before the handover takes effect, the current CEO of the Bohemian brand will take over as COO of Volkswagen, Chief Operating Officer, until July, when he will take over the reins of the German brand.
Schäfer’s successor as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Škoda Auto from 1 July 2022 will therefore be Klaus Zellmer, currently a member of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars board of directors as head of sales, marketing and after-sales service. A decision on who will take his place will be announced at a later date by the German carmaker. Thomas Schäfer has extensive experience in the international automotive industry. A graduate in mechanical engineering, he began his career at Daimler AG in Stuttgart in 1994, where he held various management positions. Schäfer joined the Volkswagen Group in 2012, initially heading the Group’s international production unit, where he held responsibility for CKD projects and negotiations on new production sites.
Schäfer has become President and CEO of the Volkswagen Group South Africa in 2015 and was responsible for Volkswagen’s activities in South Africa and for the development of the Group’s brands in the sub-Saharan African region. Schäfer was appointed Chairman of the Škoda Board of Directors in August 2020. Ralf Brandstätter will continue to serve as CEO of Volkswagen until 30 June 2022, subsequently assuming responsibility for the China division of the Group’s Board of Directors from 1 August. 2022.
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