The car manager could lead Skoda in the future.
(Photo: bernhardhuber.com)
Dusseldorf Skoda gets a new boss. As announced on Friday from company circles, Klaus Zellmer will be the new CEO of the Czech Volkswagen subsidiary. “The decision has been made,” said the group headquarters in Wolfsburg in the afternoon. The personnel is expected to be officially announced on Monday.
Klaus Zellmer, 54, is currently Head of Sales at Volkswagen Passenger Cars as Board Member. He only took up this position in autumn 2020. Before that, the car manager worked for Porsche for many years, most recently as head of the important US branch in Atlanta, Georgia. According to the company, Zellmer is already looking around to see whether he will take one or the other manager with him to the Czech Republic.
As the new Skoda boss, he is to replace Thomas Schäfer, who has already moved to Wolfsburg as the future CEO of the core Volkswagen brand. Schäfer will also take over the management of the volume group, which includes the brands VW, Skoda and Seat, from CEO Herbert Diess. Volkswagen and Skoda declined to comment on the upcoming Zellmer change.
Thomas Schäfer is already working at the headquarters in Wolfsburg and is now preparing for his future position as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at VW. He replaces Ralf Brandstätter, who will be in charge of the weakened China business as of August as the new Group Executive Board member and will bring it forward again.
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Schäfer will become the new CEO of the VW brand on July 1. Until this date, he will keep the top position at Skoda in personal union. Klaus Zellmer is to move to the Skoda headquarters in the Czech industrial city of Mlada Boleslav on July 1st. Who, in turn, will succeed Zellmer as head of sales at the VW brand has not yet been decided, according to company circles on Friday.
End of the board restructuring at Volkswagen
The change at Skoda is the last rotation of a comprehensive personnel carousel that was set in motion by the group’s supervisory board at the beginning of December. Herbert Diess was allowed to stay in Wolfsburg as CEO, but had to accept a comprehensive restructuring of the board. This also meant that Diess had to give up some of his competencies.
>> Read here, with which specifications Klaus Zellmer started at VW in Wolfsburg
In the course of this board restructuring, it was decided that the current Skoda boss Thomas Schäfer would go to the core brand VW. The search for the new Skoda CEO took a little longer and could not be announced at the same time as the restructuring of the group committee. In particular, CEO Diess thinks highly of Schäfer.
Klaus Zellmer is a clearly proven expert in sales and marketing. Even at Porsche, he had mainly worked in sales functions. Thomas Schäfer, on the other hand, comes from production. The future model range at Skoda has already been largely decided, especially in terms of electrification. The group believes Zellmer is capable of turning the models into sales successes.
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