Unrest at Europe’s largest carmaker: The chief lawyer is supposed to be promoted, but it has not been clarified what will happen with the next supervisory board meeting.
A possible new executive board member is emerging in the Volkswagen Group. According to SZ information, there is intensive discussion about whether the previous chief lawyer Manfred Döss, 63, should move up to the top management body. Döss would be an obvious solution: for example, he successfully negotiated the compensation payments after the diesel scandal with the US authorities. However, he is also considered a confidante of the owner families Porsche and Piech and is already on the board of the owner holding Porsche SE. With the personnel, the family position on the board would be strengthened – possibly at the expense of the labor camp. From the office of the chairman of the supervisory board Hans Dieter Pötsch it says on request: “No comment”.
So far, Hiltrud Werner has headed the board department “Integrity and Law” – but the contract of the only woman on the board of VW, which runs until February next year, will apparently not be extended. So far, no factual arguments have been given for her probable resignation; apparently, many consider her “too uncomfortable”. With Döss as the legal director, the succession solutions discussed in the past few months seem to have taken a back seat: the plan was for VW CEO Herbert Diess or HR director Gunnar Kilian to take over the tasks.
It is unclear when this matter will be decided, just as it will now continue in the conflict over the CEO Herbert Diess and the discussions about the plant and group organization, especially at the Wolfsburg location. No preliminary decisions were announced at the weekend. But it is now questionable whether the already postponed supervisory board meeting on December 9th can bring the solution: Prime Minister Stephan Weil, as representative of VW co-owners Lower Saxony, is reportedly having a hard time participating in the VW committee because the state heads of government are at the same time during the day meet on the corona crisis. However, the VW meeting should still take place: The date is set, according to the supervisory board on request.