Photo: Herbert Diess/Volkswagen
August 31, 2022, is the last day of work for Herbert Diess at Volkswagen. The executive gave an example of resilience and professionalism after the German carmaker announced he would leave the company, and he remained there until the end of his term. We’re not sure if he was warned about that or if it was a complete surprise. Regardless of the circumstances, Diess said these were the best seven years of his career.
In a tweet, the German executive shared a link to his LinkedIn with a video of his farewell party at the Mondo Italiano – a restaurant at the Autostadt in Wolfsburg, built in front of the Mittelland Canal. Diess made sure to reinforce that his work was a “great joy,” but he also did not miss the chance to take credit for the work he developed at the company.
The soon-to-be former Volkswagen Group CEO said he always received a lot of feedback through social media and wanted to read a sentence he received from one person for his audience. Making sure that he considered it exaggerated, Diess said that someone praised him for having “transformed a company that was seen as an autocratic cheat into a global thought leader in clean mobility.” Ouch…
The German executive was careful not to say he did this alone. While the sentence stated he transformed Volkswagen, he corrected it to “we,” sharing the credits with his team. He also joked about how hard it is to change things at the company stating that it is “the biggest car company.” Besides Toyota disputing that claim, Volkswagen is also world famous for how bureaucratic and complex the decision processes are there. Diess’s discharge is an excellent example of that.
The executive was already having a hard time with other board members. There are many theories about what was the last straw, but we’ll probably never know which one is true. What we know for sure is that Diess is regarded as a talented businessman. We would not doubt if Elon Musk hired him to run Tesla, for example. Diess will only vanish from automotive news if he decides he has had enough.
The soon-to-be former Volkswagen Group CEO said he always received a lot of feedback through social media and wanted to read a sentence he received from one person for his audience. Making sure that he considered it exaggerated, Diess said that someone praised him for having “transformed a company that was seen as an autocratic cheat into a global thought leader in clean mobility.” Ouch…
The German executive was careful not to say he did this alone. While the sentence stated he transformed Volkswagen, he corrected it to “we,” sharing the credits with his team. He also joked about how hard it is to change things at the company stating that it is “the biggest car company.” Besides Toyota disputing that claim, Volkswagen is also world famous for how bureaucratic and complex the decision processes are there. Diess’s discharge is an excellent example of that.
The executive was already having a hard time with other board members. There are many theories about what was the last straw, but we’ll probably never know which one is true. What we know for sure is that Diess is regarded as a talented businessman. We would not doubt if Elon Musk hired him to run Tesla, for example. Diess will only vanish from automotive news if he decides he has had enough.
Today is my last day as @VWGroup CEO. These were the most rewarding 7 years of my career. The future of our industry can be brilliant but we have to change fast. We have changed tremendously & are well underway. Thank you for all your trust & feedback. https://t.co/yePbPV54qb
— Herbert Diess (@Herbert_Diess) August 31, 2022
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