After an uncharacteristically public spat, it’s over: Volkswagen Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech has resigned, The Wall Street Journal reports, effective immediately. His wife, Ursula Piech, a member of the board, has also resigned.
It’s an unexpected bold move from the man who was slated to head the VW Group’s supervisory board for at least another two years, but it comes on the heels of a terse falling-out. This month, Piech rocked the VW Group’s boat with a typhoon wave when he told German news outlet Der Spiegel “I am at a distance to Winkertorn.” The quote referred to Martin Winkertorn, VW Group’s CEO and a longtime disciple of Piech.
It was long assumed that current CEO Winkertorn would take over Piech’s spot as the head of VW Group’s supervisory board once the 77-year-old executive’s term ran out in 2017. But while VW Group vies with Toyota and General Motors for the title of world’s largest automaker, the automaker has struggled to realize success in low-priced vehicles, expand its American market presence, and generate the profits expected of such a juggernaut.
VW Group made a bold rebuff to Piech this month, publicly calling Winkertorn “the best possible chairman of the board of management for Volkswagen” in a company statement that followed up Piech’s salty remark distancing himself from Winkertorn. VW Group said today that deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Berthold Huber,will temporarily assume leadership of the Board until a new Chairman is elected. Piech remains one of the automaker’s largest shareholders.
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