Markus_Duesmann_Audi

Markus Duesmann will join Audi as CEO in April 2020

Markus Duesmann will become CEO of Audi on April 1 next year and will also join the board of management of German parent company Volkswagen Group.

Duesmann has held several managerial positions at BMW and was its board of management member with responsibility for purchasing and the supplier network until July 2018, around when VW flagged he would be joining its senior management.

Duesmann takes over from Bram Schot at Audi who will leave the company by amicable mutual agreement at the end of March, VW said.

“Bram Schot took over the management of Audi at a difficult time, very successfully managed the business and initiated important changes. For this he has our sincere thanks,” said Herbert Diess, chairman of the board of management of VW Group.

Schot became interim chairman of Audi’s board of management after the post’s occupant Rupert Stadler was arrested in 2018 on charges of fraud and misrepresentation as part of the Dieselgate emissions scandal.

As for Schot’s successor, Diess said: “As an excellent engineer, Markus Duesmann will do everything in his power to leverage the full potential of the Audi brand and as such will once more demonstrate our commitment to the promise Vorsprung durch Technik.”

His responsibilities within the group’s board of management will include research and development.