Martin Winterkorn

Martin Winterkorn
Martin Winterkorn in 2015
Born (1947-05-24) 24 May 1947
Leonberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Nationality German
Alma mater University of Stuttgart (BS)
Max-Planck-Institute (PhD)
Occupation Former Chairman of the Vorstand Volkswagen AG
Known for Chairman of the Vorstand for Volkswagen, Volkswagen emissions scandal

Martin Winterkorn (born 24 May 1947) is a former chairman of the board of directors (CEO, Vorstandsvorsitzender in German) of Volkswagen AG, the parent company of the Volkswagen Group, and former chairman of the supervisory board of Audi and Porsche Automobil Holding SE.[1]

He succeeded Bernd Pischetsrieder as CEO of Volkswagen AG in 2007. Prior to that, he had been the chairman of the board of management of the Volkswagen Group subsidiary Audi AG.[2]

Winterkorn resigned from Volkswagen on 23 September 2015, several days after an emissions cheating scandal was revealed that concerned the company's diesel cars.[3][4] He resigned as chairman of Audi on 11 November 2015, after further information associated with the scandal was revealed in regard to VW's gasoline-powered engines. He remains on the supervisory board of the sports team Bayern München.[5]

Winterkorn was criminally indicted over the emissions cheating scandal in the USA on May 3, 2018 on charges of fraud and conspiracy.[6]

Biography

Education

Winterkorn studied metallurgy and metal physics at the University of Stuttgart from 1966 to 1973. From 1973 to 1977 he was a PhD student at the Max-Planck-Institute for Metal Research and Metal Physics, where he received his doctorate in 1977. He played football as a goalkeeper.[7]

Career

Winterkorn embarked on his career in 1977, as a specialist assistant in the research division "Process Engineering" at Robert Bosch GmbH.[8] From 1978 to 1981, he headed the refrigerant compressor development group "Substances and Processes" at Robert Bosch and Bosch-Siemens-Hausgeräte GmbH.

In 1993 Winterkorn became head of Group Quality Assurance at Volkswagen AG, and was appointed General Manager of Volkswagen AG with power of attorney in March 1994. He was additionally responsible for the VW Group Product Management from June 1995. In January 1996, Winterkorn took over from Herbert Schuster as Member of the Brand Board of Management for "Technical Development" for the Volkswagen brand.[9] From July 2000, he was Member of the VW Group Board of Management for Technical Development. Winterkorn was instrumental in getting Volkswagen CEO Ferdinand Piëch to approve the production of the New Beetle.

Winterkorn had been chairman of the board of management of Audi AG since 1 March 2002. He headed the Audi brand group, including the brands SEAT and Lamborghini, which was formed on 1 January 2002. Winterkorn also assumed responsibility for Technical Development at Audi AG with effect from 1 January 2003. In his capacity as CEO of the Board of Management of Audi AG, Winterkorn was also Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG.[10]

He succeeded Bernd Pischetsrieder as CEO of Volkswagen AG on 1 January 2007, and by 2014 he was the highest paid CEO of all companies listed on Germany's blue-chip DAX stock market.[11][12]

Since June 2003, Winterkorn has served as an honorary professor of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, in recognition of his service to the promotion of research at the establishment.[8] He was featured both in the 2007[13] and the 2008 Power List of American automotive magazine Motor Trend.[14]

After he succeeded Pischetsrieder in 2007, Winterkorn embarked on the "Strategie 2018" with the goal to bypass General Motors and Toyota by the year 2018, to become the world's largest automaker, "not just in units, but in profitability, innovation, customer satisfaction, everything."[15][16][7]

Among Winterkorn's initiatives are the platforms MQB and MLB which standardize the area between gas pedal and front wheels (including engines) where 60% of the development costs occur, to reduce cost while increasing design flexibility for the rest of the car.[7][17]

In the VW Group, he was viewed as having attention to detail,[18] being "product-focused" and "methodical and precise", but also demanding.[19]

Diesel emissions scandal

In September 2015, Winterkorn apologized for Volkswagen AG having installed software in its diesel cars to allow the vehicles to pass emissions tests by decreasing emissions when the vehicle detected it was undergoing testing but otherwise pollute at amounts well beyond legally allowed limits. Winterkorn confirmed that Volkswagen AG could face fines of up to $18bn, but had not issued a recall at the time of Winterkorn's departure.[20] Winterkorn blamed "the terrible mistakes of a few people," whom he did not name, for the international scandal.[21][22] Winterkorn resigned as CEO on 23 September 2015, as he accepted responsibility for the scandal while asserting that he was "not aware of any wrongdoing on my part." [23][24]

Winterkorn additionally resigned as Audi chairman on November 11, 2015. The resignation came a week after additional revelations were made public regarding further vehicle emission test rigging, this time in gasoline-powered vehicles, in amounts approaching one million.[25]

Winterkorn indictment

Winterkorn was charged in a United States indictment with fraud and conspiracy in the case on May 3, 2018. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated Winterkorn would be prosecuted vigorously, and added “If you try to deceive the United States, then you will pay a heavy price.”[6]

The criminal charges increased the likelihood that Winterkorn would face similar actions in his native Germany, and impact an existing shareholders lawsuit against Volkswagen. [6]

Additionally, the indictment raised questions regarding Volkswagen’s internal review of the incident, which at the time of the Winterkorn indictment had not been made public. Winterkorn had repeatedly denied knowledge of the widespread Volkswagen emissions test cheating up to the indictment, including his statements before the German parliament, the Bundestag.[6] The chairman of the committee looking into the scandal, Herbert Behrens, was reported to be incredulous at Winterkorn’s statement that he had not heard the term defeat device (the technology at the heart of the scandal) prior to the first news reports about the emissions lawbreaking in 2015.[26]

The indictment specifically references a 2015 business conference in Wolfsburg, Germany where Winterkorn is alleged to have been briefed on, and approved the “continued concealment” of, the defeat device software from U.S. regulators, and notes emails from that year from VW’s then-compliance liaison Oliver Schmidt, who pled guilty in the case in 2017, receiving a seven year jail term.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Martin Winterkorn". www.volkswagenag.com. Volkswagen AG. Archived from the original on 10 January 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  2. ↑ Bernd Pischetsrieder. "Bernd Pischetsrieder: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved 2014-02-27.
  3. ↑ Moore, Thad (23 September 2015). "Volkswagen CEO quits amid emissions cheating scandal". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Woodyard, Chris (23 September 2015). "VW CEO resigns in cheating scandal". The Detroit Free Press. p. 1B.
  5. ↑ Aufsichtsrat FC Bayern München AG, accessed 2017-05-27.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Ex-Volkswagen C.E.O. Charged With Fraud Over Diesel Emissions". The New York Times.
  7. 1 2 3 Muller, Joann (2013-05-06). "How Volkswagen Will Rule The World" Forbes Magazine. Page 2 Page 3 Archive of page 1
  8. 1 2 "EXECUTIVE PROFILE - Martin Winterkorn". Business Week. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  9. ↑ "Ein Schwabe in Wolfsburg: Martin Winterkorn, 48...". Auto, Motor und Sport. Heft. 6 1996: Pages 206–208. 8 March 1996.
  10. ↑ "Supervisory Board". Retrieved 2015-09-24.
  11. ↑ Mark Landler (Nov 8, 2006). "After Power Struggle, Volkswagen Ousts Its Chief".
  12. ↑ "Germany investigates VW's ex-boss over fraud allegations". Reuters. 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  13. ↑ "The 2007 Power List". Motor Trend. 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  14. ↑ "The 2008 Power List". Motor Trend. 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  15. ↑ "Winterkorns XXL-Plan". Manager-Magazin. 2007-11-10. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  16. ↑ "Volkswagen's Strategy 2018. With Generous Support From GM And Toyota". The Truth About Cars. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  17. ↑ Schmitt, Bertel (2011-08-07). "The Revolution Of The Car Industry: Kit Cars". The Truth About Cars. The Truth About Cars. Archived from the original on 2012-11-22. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
  18. ↑ Muller 2013. Quote: "earning a reputation as a boss who obsesses about the tiniest product details"
  19. ↑ Muller 2013. Quote: "He doesn’t like bad news. Before anyone reports to him, they make sure they have good news."
  20. ↑ Patrick George. "Your Guide To Dieselgate: Volkswagen's Diesel Cheating Catastrophe ". Jalopnik.
  21. ↑ "Volkswagen diesel scandal threatens to ruin its credibility and value". The Los Angeles Times. September 22, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Volkswagen scandal: CEO Martin Winterkorn resigns over emissions deception - as it happened on Wednesday". Telegraph.co.uk. 23 September 2015.
  23. ↑ Bomey, Nathan (23 September 2015). "Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn resigns amid scandal". USA Today. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  24. ↑ "VW scandal: German prosecutors probe Winterkorn as Volkswagen emissions-rigging crisis spreads to 2.1 million Audi cars and Skoda models". Retrieved 2015-09-28.
  25. ↑ Editorial, Reuters. "Former VW CEO quits as Audi chair as emission-scandal probes continue".
  26. ↑ "Ex-Chief of VW Holds Firm During Grilling on Emissions Deception". The New York Times.
  27. ↑ Bloomberg. "U.S. charges Volkswagen ex-CEO in diesel-cheating case - LA Times". latimes.com.
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