MUNICH — The sales and marketing executive Audi installed as its interim CEO after Rupert Stadler was jailed last summer has been given the job permanently.
Bram Schot has held the job on a provisional basis since June. Audi parent Volkswagen Group had lined up BMW purchasing director Markus Duesmann to become Audi CEO, but BMW refused to release Duesmann from his contract, which runs until 2020, according to German press reports.
Schot, who is the brand's sales and marketing chief, originally was considered a long shot to lead Audi permanently because he lacks an engineering background. But with Schot, Audi will be led by an executive so far untainted by the VW Group's emissions scandal that originated at Audi. The 57-year-old joined VW Group from Mercedes-Benz in 2011 and became Audi's sales and marketing chief in 2017.
Schot has done a "convincing job" as Audi CEO in recent months, the automaker said in a statement last week.
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," Audi Chairman Herbert Diess said. Diess is also VW Group CEO.
Schot, a Dutch national, also will become VW Group's head of sales, a post previously held by Stadler. He will lead Audi subsidiaries Lamborghini, Italdesign Giugiaro and Ducati. He will keep responsibility for Audi's sales and marketing for the time being, the automaker said.
Schot was appointed Audi's interim CEO on June 19 after Munich prosecutors detained Stadler on allegations he played a role in helping to bring Audi diesel cars equipped with illegal software onto the European market, making Stadler the highest-profile VW Group executive arrested in the probe that has engulfed the group for three years.
