To our Shareholders

header icon

Composition of the Supervisory Board and Board of Management

In the election of the employee representatives to the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG on April 29, 2022 in Wolfsburg, Ms. Simone Mahler, Chair of the Works Council of Volkswagen Financial Services AG in Braunschweig, Ms. Daniela Nowak, Chair of the Works Council of Volkswagen AG in Braunschweig, and Dr. Arno Homburg, Chair of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Management Association were elected as members of the Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board for the first time. They succeed Ms. Ulrike Jakob, Ms. Bertina Murkovic and Dr. Hans-Peter Fischer. The other employee representatives on the Supervisory Board were re-elected. Their term of office began at the close of the Annual General Meeting on May 12, 2022. Following the Annual General Meeting on May 12, 2022, the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG re-elected Mr. Hans Dieter Pötsch as the Chair and Mr. Jörg Hofmann as the Deputy Chair of the Supervisory Board.

With effect from the close of the Annual General Meeting on May 12, 2022, the Supervisory Board member Dr. Hussain Ali Al Abdulla stepped down from his post before the end of his term of office. As proposed by the shareholder Qatar Holding, the Annual General Meeting elected Mr. Mansoor Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud as his successor for the remainder of Dr. Al Abdulla’s term of office, beginning from the close of the 2022 Annual General Meeting on May 12, 2022.

Mr. Harald Buck, member of the General and Group Works Council of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, was court-appointed as a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG effective from October 4, 2022. He succeeded Mr. Werner Weresch, who had stepped down from his post with effect from the close of September 30, 2022.

Effective from November 8, 2022, the State of Lower Saxony appointed the new Vice Minister President and Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs of Lower Saxony, Ms. Julia Willie Hamburg, to the Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board as Dr. Bernd Althusmann’s successor.

Dr. Günther Horvath, Managing Director of Dr. Günther J. Horvath Rechtsanwalt GmbH and self-employed attorney at Dr. Gunther J. Horvath Rechtsanwalt GmbH, was court-appointed as a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG effective February 28, 2023. He succeeded Dr. Louise Kiesling, who passed away on December 9, 2022.

A new board-level management function – Volkswagen Passenger Cars – was established as of January 1, 2022, and was the responsibility of Mr. Ralf Brandstätter from that same date until June 30, 2022. Moreover, with effect from February 1, 2022, Ms. Hildegard Wortmann took over responsibility for the new Group Sales board-level management function, Dr. Manfred Döss the Integrity and Legal Affairs board-level management function (previously managed by Ms. Hiltrud Dorothea Werner), and Ms. Hauke Stars the IT board-level management function (previously managed on an interim basis by Dr. Arno Antlitz). Effective from July 1, 2022, Mr. Thomas Schäfer took over responsibility for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars function. Mr. Brandstätter, who was previously in this role, became the Board member responsible for China effective from August 1, 2022.

On July 22, 2022, the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG appointed Dr. Oliver Blume as the new Chair of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG effective from September 1, 2022. Dr. Blume combines this role with his position as Chair of the Executive Board of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. The previous Chair of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Dr. Herbert Diess, left his position as member and Chair of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG by mutual agreement with effect from the close of August 31, 2022.

As part of changes to Group management, the Board of Management was reduced from twelve to nine members with effect from the close of August 31, 2022. In the course of this change, Ms. Hildegard Wortmann and Mr. Murat Aksel moved from the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG to the Group Management functions newly created as an extension to the board-level management functions.

Our sincere thanks go out to all of the departing members of the Supervisory Board and the Board of Management for their work.

Dr. Louise Kiesling, member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, passed away on December 9, 2022 at the age of 65. Dr. Kiesling had been a member of the Supervisory Board since 2015 and showed great personal commitment to the development of our Company during her term of office. We will always honor her memory.

Prof. Dr. Carl H. Hahn, former Chair of the Board of Management and member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, passed away on January 14, 2023 at the age of 96. Prof. Dr. Hahn was at the Volkswagen Group from 1954 to 1972 and from 1982 to 1997 and decisively shaped the Company’s development during this time. With his always tireless commitment, he played a major part in setting the course for the Volkswagen Group’s success. The Company and its staff applaud his achievements with gratitude and respect. We will remember his life and work fondly.