VW chief strategist Weckbach set to leave the company

Stefan Weckbach has been active in Wolfsburg since 2023. VW CEO Oliver Blume brought him in as the successor to Gernot Döllner, who had been sent to Ingolstadt as the new head of Audi. At VW, Weckbach held a powerful position as head of corporate strategy, corporate product strategy and Blume’s executive secretary.

However, according to the German business publication Manager Magazin, the current VW chief strategist is now set to move to a competitor – although the report does not mention where Weckbach is allegedly headed. Nevertheless, the magazine writes that the ‘surprising departure is causing internal strife.’ Volkswagen declined to comment on the matter when asked.

The loss of Weckbach could also weaken the position of VW CEO Oliver Blume somewhat: Weckbach is considered a close confidant of Blume. At Porsche, Blume entrusted Weckbach with the development of the first electric model, and the business administration graduate turned the Concept Car Mission E into the Taycan as series production manager. And with his promotion to VW, Weckbach also dealt with larger issues such as the strategic direction of the group and the implementation of this strategy in the form of products. He also played an active role in the restructuring plan for the group – although he himself is not a member of the VW board, he was closely involved in its work.

Weckbach thus gained a wealth of experience within Porsche and VW, which would have qualified him for higher responsibilities and the next step in his career. He was also considered Blume’s favourite for the top job at Porsche when Blume wanted to give up his dual role in Zuffenhausen and Wolfsburg. However, as Weckbach does not yet have any operational experience at the board level (not even as a divisional board member), he was apparently passed over in the search for a successor at the helm of Porsche – former McLaren CEO Michael Leiters will take over Blume’s duties at Porsche at the turn of the year.

Due to the difficult economic situation at Porsche, the supervisory board was apparently looking for an experienced turnaround specialist, something Weckbach could not offer in his VW CV, but Leiters could with the economic turnaround at the British sports car manufacturer. However, Weckbach is not entirely inexperienced in this area, as Manager Magazin writes in an anecdote: “His doctorate at the University of St. Gallen was entitled: ‘Financial stress in companies’.”

manager-magazin.de (in German)

This article was first published by Cora Werwitzke for electrive’s German edition.