Ferdinand Piech resigns as Volkswagen Group chairman
Volkswagen Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech, grandson to Ferdinand Porsche, has resigned. Piech, aged 78, has been credited with steering the company to record profits and building the brand into the second largest motor manufacturer.
Ferdinand Piech had been at the centre of a public row with Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn about the failure to penetrate the American Market. Earlier this month he told the media that he had ‘distanced’ himself from Winterkorn.
The statement on his resignation reads, “The members of the steering committee came to a consensus that, in the light of the past weeks, the mutual trust necessary for successful cooperation was no longer there. Against this background, Professor Doctor Ferdinand K. Piech resigned from his office as chairman as well as all his supervisory board mandates within the Volkswagen group with immediate effect.”
In the meantime Deputy Chairman Berthold Huber will assume the role until a new chairman is elected.
Will the resignation be enough to unsettle a brand which has performed to the highest standards and who is going to fill those large shoes?
