Has Audi found a successor to the former CEO Rupert Stadler who is currently in custody in Munich? According to a report by Handelsblatt, the Ingolstadt-based automaker wants to hire the BMW procurement director Markus Duesmann to occupy the vacant post at the head of the VW subsidiary. An official confirmation for the planned change of the top manager was not provided at the time of publishing, but his termination at BMW has been confirmed.
When Markus Duesmann can start at Audi depends on the goodwill of BMW. German automakers have an industry-standard blocking clause, which should prevent him from immediately working for a direct competitor. According to Handelsblatt, Duesmann would have to wait at least six months before he can officially start in Ingolstadt – if BMW does not prematurely dismiss him from the contract. It is relatively certain that Audi would be very interested in this, because the current CEO Bram Schott is allegedly not seen as a desired permanent solution.
Mechanical engineer Markus Duesmann joined the BMW Group in 2007 as head of Powertrain for the former BMW Sauber Formula One team. He went on to become head of Driving Dynamics and responsible for the topic of powertrains in its entirety in the company’s development division.
Since October 1, 2016, Markus Duesmann has been a member of the Executive Board of BMW AG, responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network.
Before joining BMW, Duesmann worked for Mercedes-Benz, both in the development of production engines and in the Formula 1 team of Stuttgarter.
[Source: Bimmertoday]
