VW Turmoil Pushes Porsche Chief to Forefront of CEO Race - Bloomberg

A rift between Volkswagen AG’s two most senior executives threatens to create a power vacuum that’s set to hasten the search for a new leader. Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn suffered a public dressing-down by Chairman Ferdinand Piech, who told Der Spiegel magazine on Friday that he had distanced himself from his former confidant and no longer wants him as the next chairman. Matthias Mueller, who oversees the Porsche sports-car division, may hold the best cards as his background in engineering and his operational experience meet Piech’s specifications. “Piech’s comments have caused a lot of agitation,” said Marc-Rene Tonn, a Hamburg-based analyst at M. M. Warburg. The rare public comments from Piech, 77, a grandson of VW Beetle creator Ferdinand Porsche, sent shock waves through Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, and revealed deeper divisions as power players battle to set the agenda for the... Smooth Transition A smooth transfer would have given recent recruits -- new trucks chief Andreas Renschler and former BMW AG executive Herbert Diess, who is being brought in to succeed Winterkorn in running the VW brand -- time to prove themselves... Source: www.bloomberg.com