The new VW boss Oliver Blume, born in 1968, sees himself as a member of the “Generation Golf”, but used to drive a Beetle and not a Golf. “The ‘Generation Golf’ is my generation,” said Blume of “Bild am Sonntag”. “The naming shows how strong the tradition of the Volkswagen brand is. I’ve never played golf myself. As a student, I had a Beetle for years.”
Blume wants to put people at the center of his work as CEO: “Every person is unique. I have my own set of values. As a Lower Saxon, I’m a down-to-earth guy. I care about humanity and trust.”
Blume sees the fact that he has been working for the VW Group for 28 years as a “huge advantage”. The new VW boss: “I have a large network, I know the strengths and weaknesses of VW exactly. That’s why I don’t need 100 days of training. On Thursday we immediately got going at full speed.”
Blume wants to run the largest car company in the world with 670,000 employees and the Porsche brand in parallel, not just temporarily. “It will be permanent. For me, the dual function was a prerequisite. And such double functions are more common in the automotive industry. The two roles complement each other ideally: being closely involved operationally in the processes and technologies of a brand in order to make the right strategic decisions within the group.”
He did not immediately accept the offer to lead the entire group, said Blume: “I weighed the pros and cons and did not accept directly. But I’ve never shied away from responsibility in my life and in the end said: If they want me there, then I’ll do it. We also discussed it in the family. I was impressed by one of my daughter’s arguments. She said: Then do it for the people.”
