Global auto giant Audi has appointed Bram Schot as the new chairman of the board of management effective January 1, 2019. An industry veteran, Schot had been heading the company since June 2018 as interim CEO.

Schot will continue temporarily to hold Board of Management responsibility for Sales and Marketing from January 1 onwards.

"With the appointment of a new chairman of the board of management, we have laid important groundwork for Audi’s future orientation," stated Audi Supervisory Board Chairman and VW Group CEO, Dr. Herbert Diess.

"As interim CEO, Schot has already done a convincing job in recent months. 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," stated Diess.

Peter Mosch, the deputy chairman of the Audi Supervisory Board and chairman of the General Works Council said: “The Audi workforce wants clear conditions at the top of the company. That’s why we employee representatives are committed to doing the job properly and appointing Bram Schot as chairman of the board of Management."

"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. That’s what the workforce expects," he noted.

Schot will become chairman of the board of management of Audi, which includes Ducati, Lamborghini and Italdesign Giugiaro as well as the Audi brand, on January 1, 2019.

Born in the Netherlands, Schot had previously been responsible for Marketing and Sales on the Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles from 2012 onwards.

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.

Temporarily, he will have Board of Management responsibility for the area of Sales and Marketing. The 57-year-old has been Audi Board of Management Member for Sales and Marketing since September 2017. On June 19, he was additionally appointed as the Interim Board of Management Chairman.-TradeArabia News Service