Hans-Peter Porsche Retires, Sheikh Jassim Bin Abdulaziz Bin Jassim Al-Thani Steps In

In a somewhat surprising move, the end of last week brought what may be the beginning of a shift in power within Porsche's board. 69-year old Hans-Peter Porsche decided to step down following the end of the annual general meeting, while Sheikh Jassim Bin Abdulaziz Bin Jassim Al-Thani, representing Qatar Holding, will take his place in the carmaker's supervisory board. The Sheikh will stay on the Porsche board for four years, the remainder of Hans-Peter Porsche' appointment.

Sheikh Jassim Bin Abdulaziz Bin Jassim Al-Thani is the chairman of the board of Qatar Foundation International and is a member of the boards of Qatar National Bank, of InvestCorp and of Qatar Foundation Endowment Fund.

Other shareholder representatives on the supervisory board of Porsche SE are chairman Wolfgang Porsche, Ferdinand Oliver Porsche, Ferdinand K. Piech, Hans Michel Piech and Ulrich Lehner.

Despite the new appointment, the Porsche and Piech families still hold 90 percent of the voting rights. The Qatar fund holds, for now, 10 percent of the ordinary shares of Porsche SE.

Porsche reported, based on the performances in the second quarter of 2009, it will assume that unit sales for the full fiscal year 2009/10 will exceed the prior-year figure of 75,238 vehicles.

For the full six months of the fiscal year, sales are expected to account for about 33,200 units, while revenues will show a decrease of 3.3 percent to 2.9 billion euros.