VW promotes Movassaghi to top sales, marketing role

Volkswagen of America has promoted Duncan Movassaghi to its top sales and marketing position, replacing Derrick Hatami, who left the automaker in August.

Movassaghi, 45, who joined Volkswagen of America from Skoda in early 2018, will move up from his former position as senior vice president for U.S. sales to Hatami's former role of executive vice president for sales and marketing, effective Feb. 3, the automaker said Friday.

Werner Eichhorn, head of sales for Volkswagen's North American region, had been filling Hatami's role on an interim basis.

"We have the brand, the products and the plan to take advantage of a unique moment," Scott Keogh, CEO of Volkswagen of America, said in a written statement. "Duncan will sharpen our decision-making and help us make VW matter again."

The brand's U.S. sales last year rose 2.6 percent to 363,322 as its balance of crossovers vs. cars improved.

Before moving to Volkswagen of America, Movassaghi was managing director of Skoda UK. He joined VW in 2010 in the United Kingdom after working in the pharmaceutical retail and banking sectors. Movassaghi is a 1998 graduate of Cambridge University with a degree in engineering.

"We're extremely pleased with Duncan's appointment. We've talked a lot about the importance of promoting someone to that position from within, so that we don't have that long curve while an outsider learns how we're structured," said John Luciano, chairman of the Volkswagen National Dealer Advisory Council. "To have a guy in that role who we actually know, and who already knows how we think and how we operate, is a great thing."