Executive Bodies

Ralf Brandstätter was born in Brunswick on September 8, 1968.

He trained as a shopfitter at the Volkswagen plant in Brunswick. He then studied industrial engineering and joined the Volkswagen Group in 1993.

Following positions in international project steering in the procurement division, he became an assistant to the Board of Management in the General Secretariat of Volkswagen AG. In 1998 he took charge of metal procurement for chassis and powertrain components and was made project manager for new vehicle projects in 2003. In 2005 he moved to Spain as head of procurement.

He became the member of the SEAT Executive Committee responsible for Purchasing in 2008. Brandstätter was named Head of Group Procurement Exterieur in 2010. He was appointed Head of Group Purchasing New Product Launches in 2012 and was made a General Representative of Volkswagen AG in October 2015.

Ralf Brandstätter was appointed a member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand on December 9, 2015. He held responsibility for procurement from December 2015 to the end of February 2019.

Brandstätter has led the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand as Chief Operating Officer (COO) since August 1, 2018.

Ralf Brandstätter became Chairman of the Board of Management (CEO) of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand on July 1, 2020.

Effective January 1, 2022, the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG appointed Ralf Brandstätter Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG.

Status: January, 2022

Dr. Manfred Döss was born in 1958 in Bad Kreuznach (Germany).

He studied law at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. After his post-graduate clerkship in 1987, he received his doctorate in 1990. Dr. Döss started his career at Metallgesellschaft AG (today Gea AG) in the Legal department. In 1996, he became head of the Legal department and in 1994, he also became representative of senior executives in the co-determined Supervisory Board of Metallgesellschaft AG.

From 2005 to 2013, Dr. Döss worked as head of the Legal department of RWE AG. From 2007 to 2009, he also served as non-executive director during the initial public offering of American Water Works Co. Inc., Voorhees (NJ), USA, a former subsidiary of the RWE Group. From 2013 to 2015, Dr. Döss served as head of the Legal department of Porsche Automobil Holding SE.

Since 2016, Dr. Döss has served as member of the Management Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE, responsible for Legal and Compliance.

The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG has appointed Dr. Manfred Döss to the Group Board of Management where he will be responsible for “integrity and legal affairs”, effective February 1, 2022.

Status: February, 2022

Thomas Schäfer was born in Marburg, Germany, in 1970. He entered the automotive industry through a dual study program at Daimler AG and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1994. He held various management positions in the areas of production and quality assurance in Germany, the USA and South Africa at Daimler until 2002. From 2002 to 2005, he was a founding member of DaimlerChrysler Malaysia as the Board Member for Technology. At the Stuttgart headquarters, Schäfer was responsible for vehicle deliveries, customer centres and the global CKD business in emerging markets between 2005 and 2012.

In May 2012, Schäfer moved to Volkswagen AG, where he headed up the Group’s International Production and was responsible for CKD projects and negotiations on new production sites.

From 2015, he held the position of Chairman and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa and was responsible for the development of the Group brands in the sub-Saharan Africa region.

Schäfer became CEO of ŠKODA AUTO in August 2020. He launched the new corporate strategy NEXT LEVEL – ŠKODA STRATEGY 2030, advanced the electrification of the model portfolio and laid the foundation for becoming the leading European brand in growth regions like India and North Africa.

Thomas Schäfer assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Volkswagen brand on 1 April 2022.

Since 1 July 2022, he has been a member of the Group Board of Management, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand and Head of the Brand Group Core.

Status: June, 2023

Stars was born on June 3, 1967. She studied applied computer science at the Technical University of Magdeburg and studied further in the UK, graduating as a Master of Science in Engineering. Her whole working life has also been closely tied to information technology.

Stars began her professional career in the IT division of Bertelsmann at the beginning of the 1990s. She moved to the IT service provider Triaton in 1998, where she was initially in charge of software development and, from 2000 on, the member of the Management Board responsible for sales and marketing. Triaton was acquired by Hewlett Packard (HP) in 2004, with the result that Stars continued her career at this global IT group. She was responsible at HP for IT services business in the Netherlands and, from 2007, was Managing Director of HP’s local organization in Switzerland.

In 2012 she joined the Executive Board of the DAX 40 company Deutsche Börse AG, where she was responsible for IT, capital market business and human resources (as Labor Director) until 2020.

The technology and financial market expert has also held seats on various Supervisory Boards since 2009, currently with Supervisory Board mandates at the power company RWE and the logistics company Kühne+Nagel.

The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG has appointed Hauke Stars as a member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG with functional responsibility for ‘IT’ effective February 1, 2022. In this capacity, Stars is responsible for all Group-wide activities in the areas of IT, data, organizational development and process management.

Status: March, 2022

Hans Dieter Pötsch has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since October 7, 2015.

Mr Pötsch was born in Traun, Austria, on March 28, 1951. He studied industrial engineering at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, from 1973 to 1979. He worked in Controlling at BMW AG in Munich, Germany, from 1979, and subsequently took up the position of Head of Controlling at BMW AG in 1984, serving in this function until 1987. He became General Manager for Finance and Administration at Trumpf GmbH & Co. KG from 1987 to 1991. He served as Chairman of the Board of Management of Traub AG from 1991 to 1995, and was Chairman of the Board of Management at Dürr AG from 1995 to 2002.

Mr Pötsch served as Group Board of Management member with responsibility for Finance & Controlling at Volkswagen AG from 2003 to 2015. He has served as Board member for Finance at Porsche Automobil Holding SE from 2009 to 2022. Since 2015 Mr Pötsch serves as Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG.

Among his other mandates, Hans Dieter Pötsch is a member of the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA in Gütersloh, Germany.

Hans Dieter Pötsch has specialist knowledge and experience of the automotive industry thanks to his years of work as Chief Finance Officer for Volkswagen AG. Furthermore, he has extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of corporate strategy, vehicle manufacture/sale, finance and accounting, taxes, capital markets, management/supervision, law/compliance, human resources, as well as particular expertise in the North America market. In addition, he is particularly experienced in interacting and working with government and authorities, industry associations, and trade unions and special knowledge on the subject of sustainability/ESG – environment, social and governance. Given his knowledge and experience, the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG has appointed Mr Pötsch as its ESG officer.

Status: February 23, 2024

Mr Al-Mahmoud has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since 12 May 2022.

Since 29 July 2022, Mr. Al-Mahmoud has also been Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG.

Mr Al-Mahmoud was appointed Chief Executive Officer of QIA in September 2018. Under his oversight, QIA has pivoted its investment strategy to have a greater focus on diversification and on investments that have clear ESG goals. Mr Al-Mahmoud has also overseen the adoption of a new operating model.

Prior to his appointment at QIA, Mr Al-Mahmoud was the CEO of Qatar Museums, where he led the opening of the National Museum of Qatar.

His previous roles include being CEO of Qatar Development Bank (QDB), Director of Investment Affairs for H.E. the Former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Head of Risk Management at QIA.

Mr Al-Mahmoud holds a number of government and board roles, including: Vice-Chairman of Qatar Exchange, the Doha- Based International stock exchange; Vice-Chairman of Qatar Airways; Special Advisor to Qatar Museums’ Chairperson, H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani; and board member for QNB, Qatari Diar, the Doha Film Institute and Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

Mr Al-Mahmoud holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Finance from George Washington University in the US.

Mr Al-Mahmoud has extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of automotive industry, finance and accounting, corporate strategy, management/supervision, capital markets and human resources. In addition, he is particularly experienced in interacting and working with government, authorities, universities and the press. He also has special knowledge on the subject of sustainability/ESG – environment, social and governance.

Status: February 22, 2024

Harald Buck has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft since 4 October 2022.

He was born in Stuttgart on 2 January 1962, and initially completed training as an automotive mechanic at the Hahn Sportwagen company, where he subsequently worked. In 1985, he joined Porsche AG as automotive mechanic in engine construction.

From 1990, Harald Buck was involved in co-determination as a shop steward at Porsche. From 1995 onwards, he was a member of the shop stewards' leading committee. Since 2002, Harald Buck has been a member of the Works Council of Porsche AG and, since 2018, also a member of the General and Group Works Council there. Since 2019, he has been a member of the supervisory board of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.

From 2019 to 2022, Harald Buck was deputy Chairman on the Works Council as well as the General and Group Works Council of Porsche AG. He has been the Chairman of these bodies since May and June 2022, respectively.

Harald Buck has specialist knowledge and experience of the automotive industry. Furthermore, he has in-depth knowledge and experience in the areas of vehicle manufacture/sale, human resources as well as employee matters. In addition, he is a specialist in the topic of company pension plans and has particular experience in cooperation with politics and trade unions due to his many years of activity in co-determination.

Status: February 22, 2024

Matías Carnero has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since 1 April 2021. Matías Carnero was born on 4 April 1968 in Barcelona. In 1987, he joined SEAT as an assembly worker at the Barcelona plant and later became a foreman. In 1988, he was elected as a delegate of the union. In 1999, he became Chairman of the SEAT works council in Martorell, and in 2003 general secretary and spokesman for the UGT union at SEAT. Since 2003 Mr Carnero has been a member of the Presidium of the European and Global Group Works Council in the Volkswagen Group. He has been President of the UGT Catalunya since 2016.

Due to his diverse, decade-long activities in various bodies of company and trade union co-determination, Mr Carnero has in-depth knowledge and experience of the automotive industry and collective bargaining policy. In addition, he has special knowledge and experience in the areas of vehicle manufacture/sale, management/supervision, law/compliance, government relations, human resources as well as employee matters. He also has special experience in cooperation with politics, associations and especially trade unions.

Status: February 22, 2024

Marianne Heiß has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since 14 February 2018.

She was born on 2 November 1972 in Krems an der Donau, Austria. From 1998 to 2002, Ms Heiß studied Accounting & Auditing, and Management, Organisation and Human Resources at the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt.

Marianne Heiß began as a bookkeeper at the tax consultancy STABILA in Vienna in 1989.

She worked at Dr. Röhricht – Dr. Schillen, an auditing firm and tax consultancy company in Bielefeld, from 1991 to 1993.

As Head of the Administrations Office at the Dorint AG in Hamelin from 1993 to 1996, Marianne Heiß was responsible for the Finance and Accounting department and Human Resources.

In 1996, Marianne Heiß moved to the advertising and communications sector, starting at the BBDO Group, a leading company in its field in Germany.

Her initial post there was Head of Finance and Accounting for the outsourcing specialist SELLBYTEL (Nuremberg) until 1998. From 1999 to 2002, she was the Financial Director of the agencies of BBDO Austria.

As management consultant at BBDO Services GmbH in Düsseldorf from 2002 to 2005, Marianne Heiß was responsible for the integration of new agencies. Marianne Heiß was responsible for the BBDO agencies in Berlin, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart as CFO from 2006 to 2011, until she took on responsibility for 18 European countries as the European Finance Director of BBDO Europe with headquarters in London. She held this position from 2011 to 2013.

In June 2013, she was appointed as CFO of the BBDO Group Germany GmbH which has been operating in Germany since 1956. From March 2019 until April 2023 Ms Heiß was the CEO of the BBDO Group Germany GmbH.

At the end of 2004, Gabler Verlag published her book Strategisches Kostenmanagement in der Praxis (Strategic Cost Management in Practice), followed by YES SHE CAN – Die Zukunft des Management ist weiblich (YES SHE CAN – The Future of Management is Female) in May 2011. From 2015 until 2017, Marianne Heiß was Vice President of the Gesamtverbandes Kommunikationsagenturen (German Association of Communication Agencies).

Marianne Heiß has extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of corporate strategy, sales and marketing, finance and accounting, management/supervision, law/compliance, digitalization/IT, human resources and of the automotive industry, in particular in the field of electric mobility as well as particular expertise in the North America market. Marianne Heiß has also special knowledge on the subject of ESG (environment, social and governance), in particular with regard to corporate social responsibility. She is also an expert on ESG on the Supervisory Board of Porsche SE as well as a member of the Supervisory Boards of Audi AG and Flix SE.

Marianne Heiß also is a member auf the Audit Committee of Volkswagen AG and holds the chair in the Audit Committee of Flix SE. 

Status: February 22, 2024

Dr.-Ing. Arno Homburg has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since 12 May 2022.

Dr. Homburg was born in Wiesbaden on 17 August 1968. After having acquired his university-entrance diploma (German Abitur) in Wiesbaden, he trained as a reserve officer in the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). He then studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Brunswick, specialising in internal combustion engines and automotive engineering. In February 1995, Dr. Homburg began his career at the Volkswagen Group as a doctoral student in the Engine Research Department. His doctoral thesis focused on optical analysis options for optimising direct-injection petrol engines.

From January 2016, Dr. Homburg was Head of Group Overall Vehicle Development and from April 2019, he was responsible for the Technical Conformity Division at AUDI AG. In October 2020, Dr. Homburg took over as Head of the Central Production Pilot Hall at the core brand Volkswagen Passenger Cars in Wolfsburg, where vehicle projects take the final path for series-production readiness. Since May 2022, Dr. Homburg has been Chairman of the Volkswagen Management Association (VMA), the body representing the interests of the Group's senior managers.

Due to his many years in various management positions within the Volkswagen Group, Dr. Arno Homburg has special knowledge and experience of the automotive industry. He has in-depth knowledge and experience particularly in the areas of drive technology, vehicle project management, vehicle development and motorsport as well as on the regulatory requirements for vehicle lifecycles in the automotive industry. He has also special knowledge and experience on the subjects of vehicle manufacture/sale, research/development, management/supervision, law and compliance, human resources, employee matters as well as sustainability/ESG (environment, social and governance).

Status: February 22, 2024

Daniela Nowak has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since 12 May 2022.

Daniela Nowak was born in Brunswick on 28 August 1970. From 1986 to 1989, she trained as a tool mechanic at the VW component plant in Brunswick.

She then worked as a production worker in the axle assembly. In 1996, she completed her training as a technician specialising in design engineering at the Brunswick State Technical School.

Daniela Nowak has been a member of the works council since May 1994. In the course of her work with the works council, she has gained extensive qualifications on issues such as working hours and staffing levels. Ms Nowak has been Chairperson of the works council at the Brunswick plant since May 2021. Also since May 2021, Daniela Nowak has been a member of the so-called make-or-buy committee, in which the Volkswagen Group decides on external or in-house production.

Due to her many years of work in the Volkswagen Group, Daniela Nowak has special knowledge and experience of the automotive industry. In addition, she has in-depth knowledge and experience particularly on issues of vehicle manufacture/sale, for example with regard to component production, the automotive supply industry and aspects of the depth of added value in automotive production. In addition to an affinity for technical contexts, Ms Nowak has special knowledge and experience in the area of employee matters, in particular with regard to corporate and trade union codetermination, and in cooperation with trade unions.

Status: February 22, 2024

Dr. Ferdinand Oliver Porsche has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since 7 August 2009.

Dr. Ferdinand Oliver Porsche was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on 13 March 1961. He studied law at the University of Salzburg, graduating with a Masters degree in law in 1990. After that, he worked for four years at Ernst & Young in tax consultancy and final audit. He received his doctorate in law in 1992. Dr. Ferdinand Oliver Porsche studied business administration at the University of Toronto, Canada, from 1994 to 1995.

Dr. Ferdinand Oliver Porsche served as managing director of Porsche Design Management GmbH & Co. KG, Salzburg, Austria, from 1994 to 2004. He has been managing director of Real Estate Holding GmbH, Salzburg, Austria, since 2002. He has served on the executive board of Familie Porsche AG Beteiligungsgesellschaft in Salzburg, Austria, since 2003, and as managing director of Neckar GmbH, Salzburg, Austria, since 2015.

Dr. Ferdinand Oliver Porsche is a member of the Supervisory Board of Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG, AUDI AG, Porsche Holding Gesellschaft m.b.H., Porsche Automobil Holding SE.

Futhermore, Dr. Ferdinand Oliver Porsche is a deputy chairman of the Supervisory Board of the nonprofit company Lebenshilfe Salzburg.

Dr. Ferdinand Oliver Porsche has specialist knowledge and experience of the automotive industry thanks to his role as a managing director and his years of work for the respective supervisory bodies. Furthermore, he has extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of vehicle sale /marketing, finance and accounting, management/supervision, law/compliance, and human resources. In addition, he is particularly experienced in interacting and working with industry associations.

Status: February 22, 2024

Gerardo Scarpino has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since 21 April 2023.

Gerardo Scarpino was born in Italy on 13 February 1962. He lives in Wolfsburg since 1965. In 1978, he began an apprenticeship as a machine fitter at Volkswagen's main plant. After completing his apprenticeship, Scarpino attended a master craftsman's school and continued to be trained as a human resources specialist.

In the 1980s, Gerardo Scarpino helped to set up the Youth and Apprentices Representation Body at Volkswagen. From 1984 to 1987, he was its chairman. In 1987, the workforce elected him to the Works Council for the first time.

In 2005, Scarpino moved up to the Works Council’s executive management committee, as one of the so-called area coordinators. In this function, he was responsible for some 13,500 employees in Wolfsburg working in technical development and in the model series. Also since 2005, Scarpino was chairman of the education committee and thus responsible for apprenticeship and trainee issues also at the level of the General Works Council of all German Volkswagen locations.

From September 2021 to April 2023, Gerardo Scarpino was deputy chairman of the Works Council in Wolfsburg and deputy at the level of the General and Group Works Council. For co-determination purposes, he accompanied the development of the Car.Software organisation from 2019 and, with its transition to CARIAD SE, held a supervisory board mandate there from 2021 to April 2023. As Deputy Chairman of the Works Council, Scarpino also sat on the supervisory boards of Volkswagen Immobilien GmbH and Wolfsburg AG and was delegated by the employees‘ site to the Volkswagen Pension Trust.

Since April 2023 he has been Executive Director of the Group Works Council.

Due to his decades of activity in various committees of company and trade union co-determination as well as in supervisory boards, Gerardo Scarpino has in-depth knowledge and experience in the areas of education and training, collective bargaining policy as well as the automotive industry – here in particular on topics from the area of technical development. In addition, he has special knowledge of labour issues and has particular experience in working with associations, NGOs and especially trade unions.

Status: February 22, 2024

Conny Schönhardt became a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft on 21 June 2019. She is also on the Supervisory Boards of Cariad SE and VW Bank GmbH.

Ms Schönhardt was born in Hannover on 24 April 1978. She completed a commercial apprenticeship for office communication at VW Commercial Vehicles from 1994 to 1997. From 2002 to 2006, she studied economics at the Universität für Wirtschaft und Politik in Hamburg (now called Universität Hamburg, department of social economics) and completed a Master of Science in International and European Politics at the University of Edinburgh in 2008.

Before her studies, Ms Schönhardt worked as an assembly worker at VW Commercial Vehicles from 1997 to 2002. Simultaneously, from 1996 to 2002, she was a representative for young employees and apprentices, for two years of which she was Deputy Chair. From 2008 to 2014, she was a trade union secretary for IG Metall Area Management for Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. From 2014 to 2018, she worked for the IG Metall Board of Management as a secretary in the unit responsible for pay scale policy.

In November 2017, Ms Schönhardt completed her qualification as Labour Organiser at REFA (Association for work design, company organization and corporate development).

Since January 2019, she has been a trade union secretary for the IG Metall Board of Management and also company representative for Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft and AUDI AG.

Conny Schönhardt has specialist knowledge and experience of the automotive industry thanks to her work at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and her role as a company representative. Furthermore, she has extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of vehicle manufacture/sale, management/supervision, finance and accounting, law/compliance as well as employee matters. In addition, she is particularly experienced in interacting and working with government and authorities, industry associations, and trade unions.

Status: February 22, 2024