Following the resignation of Dr. Martin Winterkorn as Volkswagen Group CEO, more senior management have gone in the wake of the current Volkswagen emissions scandal, many have dubbed 'dieselgate'. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Head of Technical Development at Audi since 2013, is to leave the company. Prior to his role at Audi he was appointed Member of Board of Management for Development at Volkswagen.
Also gone is Porsche's Head of Research and Development, Wolfgang Hatz. Although Porsche has yet to be fully embroiled in the emissions saga, Hatz did also hold the position of Head of Engines and Transmissions Development for the Volkswagen Group. Hatz had been with the Volkswagen Group since 2001.
Volkswagen Group Brand Development Chief Heinz-Jakob Neusser has also been given his marching orders and it has been suggested by some media outlets that Christian Klinger, Volkswagen Group's Head of Sales and Marketing may also soon be departing. Stateside, Volkswagen U.S. CEO, Michael Horn, is also set to leave his position after less than two years in the role.
Anything else?
In the midst of all this it looks increasingly likely that Matthias Muller will be voted in to take up Winterkorn's vacated role as Volkswagen Group CEO. Muller (62) is currently CEO of Porsche but has been associated with the Volkswagen Group, starting his career as an apprentice at Audi in 1977. One crucial detail however is Muller's role in overseeing all of the Volkswagen Group's product strategy from 2007 to 2010, these include the years in which the EA189 engine at the centre of this debacle were produced.
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