The Audi supervisory board has appointed Bram Schot as the chairman of the board of management effective January 1, 2019. Schot has headed the company since June 2018 as interim CEO.
“With the appointment of a new chairman of the board of management, we have laid important groundwork for Audi’s future orientation,” said VW Group CEO, Dr Herbert Diess.
“As interim CEO, Bram Schot has already done a convincing job in recent months,” added Diess. “He is pushing forward with the cultural change in his team and is effectively tackling the current challenges. With the benefit of a strong mandate, he will further accelerate the transformation of the company and lead the Four Rings to new successes.”
Schot will become chairman of the board at Audi, which includes Ducati, Lamborghini and Italdesign Giugiaro as well as the Audi brand, on January 1, 2019. Temporarily he will have responsibility for sales and marketing.
The 57-year-old has been Audi board of management member for sales and marketing since September 2017. On June 19, 2018 he was additionally appointed as the interim board of management chairman.
Born in the Netherlands, Schot had previously been responsible for marketing and sales at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles since 2012. In 2011 he left his position as president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Italia to move to the Volkswagen Group, where he was at first responsible for strategic projects in the Group’s sales division.
“The Audi workforce wants clear conditions at the top of the company,” said Peter Mosch, deputy chairman of the Audi supervisory board. “That’s why we employee representatives are committed to doing the job properly and appointing Bram Schot. During his interim period he has already shown that he can give great impetus to the new start we have called for and initiated. He must now continue along this path and lead Audi back to the top.”