Management

Dr. Herbert Diess was appointed to the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG on May 7, 2018, and elected Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG on May 8, 2018.

Herbert Diess was born in Munich on October 24, 1958. He studied vehicle technology at Munich University of Applied Sciences from 1977 and then mechanical engineering at Munich Technical University from 1978 to 1983.

After obtaining his degree in engineering, Diess was a scientific assistant at the Institute for Tool Machines and Plant Management of Munich Technical University, where he obtained a doctorate in the field of assembly automation in 1987. From 1988, he headed the Assembly Automation Department of the Institute for Tool Machines and Plant Management.

In 1989, he continued his career with Robert Bosch GmbH in Stuttgart. In 1990, he was appointed Technical Director, Planning and Maintenance, of the Robert Bosch plant at Treto in Spain, where he was General Manager from 1993.

In 1996, Diess joined BMW AG in Munich as Director, Long-Term and Structural Planning. From 1997, he headed the Process Consulting Department, first in the Production Division and later in the Engineering and Technology Division. He was then assigned to the UK, where he was Director of BMW’s Birmingham plant from 1999; one year later, he became Director of the BMW plant in Oxford. In 2003, he was appointed Director of BMW Motorcycles.

In 2007, he became Member of the Board of Management, Purchasing and Supplier Network, and, in 2012, Member of the Board of Management, Development, of BMW AG.

Effective July 1, 2015, the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG appointed Dr. Herbert Diess Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG and Chairman of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand.

The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft appointed Dr. Herbert Diess as Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft effective April 13, 2018.

Status: May 2018

Mag. Josef Ahorner has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since November 30, 2015.

Ahorner was born in Vienna, Austria, on March 26, 1960. After qualifying to enter university in 1978 from the American International School in Vienna, he completed the training course for school-leavers at the Commercial College. He then studied law in Vienna and Graz, graduating in 1993 with a master’s degree in law.

Ahorner is Managing Director of Ahorner Vermögensverwaltung GmbH, which he founded in 1987. In 2000, he founded emarsys AG, in which he remains actively involved to the present day as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. From 1996 to 2008, he was a Member of the Board of Directors of Porsche Holding. He has been a Member of the Administrative Board of Lamborghini since 2015.

Status: January 2018

Marianne Heiß has been a member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since May 7, 2018.

She was born on November 2, 1972 in Krems an der Donau, Austria. From 1998 to 2002, Ms Heiß studied Accounting & Auditing, and Management, Organization and Human Resources at the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt.

She worked as Head of the Administrations Office at the Dorint Hotel AG in Hamelin from 1993 to 1996. Thereafter, Ms Heiß was employed as Head of Finance and Accounting at SELLBYTEL GmbH in Nuremberg until 1998. In 1999, she began working as Finance Director at the BBDO Group, a global advertising and marketing agency with headquarters in New York and eleven communications companies and 10,000 employees in Germany. From 2006 to 2011, Ms Heiß took on the role of Chief Financial Officer of BBDO Düsseldorf GmbH, and from 2011 to 2013 she was active as European Finance Director of BBDO Europe Ltd. in London. From June 1, 2013, Marianne Heiß was Chief Financial Officer of BBDO Group Germany GmbH. Since March 1, 2019, she has been Chief Executive Officer of BBDO Germany GmbH.

At the end of 2004, Gabler Verlag published her book Strategisches Kostenmanagement in der Praxis (Strategic Cost Management in Practice), followed by YES SHE CAN – Die Zukunft des Management ist weiblich (YES SHE CAN – The Future of Management is Female) in May 2011. From 2015 until 2017, Marianne Heiß was Vice President of the Gesamtverbandes Kommunikationsagenturen (German Association of Communication Agencies).

Status: March 2019

Gunnar Kilian has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since May 9, 2018.

Kilian was born January 31, 1975 in Westerland/Sylt and has worked for the Volkswagen Group since 2000. He started his professional career in 1995 as an intern with a newspaper, subsequently holding various editorial posts before joining Volkswagen AG as a public relations officer in 2000.

From 2003, Kilian ran the office of a member of the German Bundestag, and returned to Volkswagen AG in 2006 as press spokesperson for the Group Works Council. He worked in the Salzburg office of the Chairman of the Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board from 2012 before returning to Wolfsburg in 2013 to take up the post of Secretary-General and General Manager of the Group Works Council.

Kilian also held Supervisory Board mandates at Wolfsburg AG, Porsche Holding Stuttgart GmbH, Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH, MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, Allianz für die Region GmbH as well as Volkswagen Vertriebsbetreuungsgesellschaft and MOIA GmbH.

Kilian has engaged in voluntary work for many years, for example as Chairman of the Volkswagen Belegschaftsstiftung (Volkswagen Employee Foundation) and also as a member of the Stiftungsrat (Board of Trustees) of the International Youth Meeting Center in Auschwitz.

The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG appointed Gunnar Kilian as Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG with functional responsibility for 'Human Resources and Organization' effective April, 13, 2018.

Status: May 2018

Dr. Julia Kuhn-Piëch has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since November 30, 2015.

Kuhn-Piëch was born in Vienna, Austria, on April 8, 1981. After graduating from high school, she completed a law degree at the University of Vienna and then went on to study real estate and facility management at Vienna University of Technology. In addition to her professional posts, she received her Doctorate in Legal Studies from the University of Vienna in 2017.

Kuhn-Piëch began her career in 2009 in the planning, organization and implementation of real estate projects. She has been performing duties within the Group for four years. In addition to her role on the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG, Kuhn-Piëch is active as a member of the Supervisory Boards of MAN SE and MAN Truck & Bus AG.

Status: January 2018

Dr. Hans Michel Piëch has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since November 19, 2009.

Piëch was born in Vienna, Austria, on January 10, 1942. He received his high school diploma in 1963 and subsequently studied law at the University of Vienna until 1968. He received his Doctorate in Legal Studies in 1970.

That same year, he began his career with Gulf Oil in Pittsburgh, USA. In 1971, he became Managing Director of Porsche KG in Stuttgart. Piëch has worked as an independent attorney since 1977.

He has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of Porsche Holding GmbH in Salzburg since 1975 and a Member of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG Stuttgart since 1989. He has also been a Member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since 2009.

Status: January 2018

Hans Dieter Pötsch has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since April 25, 2003.

Pötsch was born in Traun, Austria, on March 28, 1951. From 1973 to 1979, he studied industrial engineering at Darmstadt University of Technology. From 1979 onward, he worked in controlling at BMW AG in Munich, ultimately becoming Head of Controlling at BMW AG in 1984, a role he held until 1987. From 1987 to 1991, he was General Manager for Finance and Administration at Trumpf GmbH & Co. KG. From 1991 to 1995, he was Chairman of the Board of Management of Trumpf GmbH & Co. KG and from 1995 to 2002 Chairman of the Board of Management of Dürr AG.

Pötsch was a Member of the Group Management Board with responsibility for Finance & Controlling at Volkswagen AG from 2003 to 2015. He has been Chief Financial Officer of Porsche Automobil Holding SE since 2009 and Chairman of the Board of Management of Porsche Automobil Holding SE and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since 2015.

Pötsch is also a Member of the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA in Gütersloh, Germany, among others.

Status: January 2018

Dr. Ferdinand Oliver Porsche has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since November 19, 2009.

Porsche was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on March 13, 1961. He studied law at the University of Salzburg in 1990, graduating with a master’s degree in law. In 1992, he received his Doctorate in Legal Studies. From 1994 to 1995, Porsche studied business administration at the University of Toronto, earning an MBA.

From 1994 to 2003, he was Managing Director of Porsche Design Management GmbH & Co. KG, Salzburg, Austria. He has been Managing Director of Real Estate Holding GmbH, Salzburg, since 2002. He has been a Member of the Board of Management of Familie Porsche AG Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Salzburg, since 2003 and Managing Director of Neckar GmbH, Salzburg, since 2015.

Porsche is also a Member of the Supervisory Boards of Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft, Volkswagen AG, Porsche Holding GmbH, Porsche Automobil Holding SE as well as Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH among others.

In addition, Porsche is Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Lebenshilfe Salzburg gemeinnützige GmbH.

Status: January 2018

Dr. Wolfgang Porsche has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since May 10, 2012.

Porsche was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on May 10, 1943. After completing his general qualification for university entrance and trade exams as a fitter, he studied at the Vienna University of World Trade from 1965 to 1971, graduating in business administration. In 1973, he received a doctorate in commercial science.

Between 1973 and 2000, he was an independent general importer of Yamaha motorcycles in Austria. From 1976 to 1981, Porsche was involved in various areas of domestic and international sales at Daimler-Benz AG, Stuttgart-Untertürkheim. He has been Managing Director of Porsche GmbH in Stuttgart since 1985. From 1988 to 2011, he was Managing Partner of Porsche Holding GmbH Salzburg.

Porsche has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG since 1978. Porsche has been Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE as well as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG since 2007. He has also been a Member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since 2008.

Status: January 2018

Hiltrud Dorothea Werner has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since February 16, 2017.

Werner was born in Bad Doberan, Germany, on April 16, 1966. In 1985, she completed a textile technology training program in Mühlhausen (Thuringia). She then earned an economics degree in 1989 at the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg.

Hiltrud Dorothea Werner began her career path as a project manager for process optimization at Softlab GmbH, a consulting firm specializing in information technology.

She joined BMW AG in 1996. During her tenure with the firm, she completed an international management trainee program and went on to become a department head at BMW Bank GmbH. In 2000, she joined Group Audit and in 2003 became the head of the BMW Audit Department for the United Kingdom and Ireland with global responsibility for the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and MINI brands. After returning from the United Kingdom in 2008, she became head of Group Audit Financial Services.

In 2011, Hiltrud Dorothea Werner was appointed Chief Audit Executive at MAN SE. She then assumed the same role at ZF Friedrichshafen in 2014. She became head of Group Audit at Volkswagen AG on January 1, 2016.

On February 1, 2017, the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG appointed Werner to the Group Board of Management, where she is responsible for integrity and legal affairs.

Status: January 2018

Rita Beck has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since December 13, 2016.

Beck was born in Kösching/Eichstätt, Germany, on November 16, 1970. In 1986, she commenced her vocational education as a tool technician at AUDI AG. After that, she worked from 1990 to 1997 as a safety component inspector in quality assurance at AUDI AG and subsequently spent three years as a quality assurance expert. From 2000 to 2002, she worked as an auditor and as a quality assurance technician at Audi.

Rita Beck’s involvement in employee representation dates back to 1988 – initially as a member of the Youth and Trainee Representation, from 2002 as a Member of the Works Council of AUDI AG and since 2014 as a Member of the Works Committee. In 2017, Rita Beck was appointed as a Member of the General Works Council and the Economic Committee. She was elected to the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG in 2016.

In addition to her professional posts, Rita Beck has been a member of the Delegate Assembly of the IG Metall trade union since 2000 and a Member of the Local Executive Body and of the bargaining committee since 2004. She has also been a lay judge at the labor court in Munich since 2013.

Status: January 2018

Johann Horn has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since January 1, 2000.

Horn was born in Planegg (Bavaria), Germany, on April 25, 1958. After receiving his high school certificate, Horn trained as a toolmaker between 1975 and 1977, subsequently working for ten years as a toolmaker and as a laboratory mechanic at the AEG domestic appliances plant in Nuremberg. From 1983 to 1984, he completed an additional program of studies at the European Academy of Work in Frankfurt. In 1987, he took on the position of trade union secretary at IG Metall in Nuremberg. From 1998 to 2000, Horn worked as a human resources and organization developer.

Horn has held the post of First Authorized Representative of the Ingolstadt office of the IG Metall trade union since 2000. From 2006 to 2016, he was also First Authorized Representative of the IG Metall cooperation Ingolstadt/Schwabach.

Since November 1, 2018, Johann Horn has been District Manager of IG Metall Bayern.

Status: February 2019

Rolf Klotz has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since May 16, 2013.

Klotz was born in Mosbach (Baden), Germany, on April 30, 1958. In 1975, he began training as an automotive mechanic at Audi NSU Auto Union GmbH in Neckarsulm and that same year became a member of the Industriegewerkschaft Metall trade union. Following his apprenticeship, Rolf Klotz worked from 1978 to 1980 at various stations on the Audi and Porsche production lines before transferring to various reworking areas of AUDI AG at the Neckarsulm plant up to 1999.

From 1989 to 1991, he successfully completed an advanced training course to become an industrial foreman in the metalworking field, and from 1993 to 1994 he completed a course in technical business management at the Heilbronn chamber of commerce and industry (IHK).

Rolf Klotz has been a Member of the Works Council of AUDI AG for the Neckarsulm plant since 1993. He paved the way for his Works Council activities as far back as 1976 as a member of the Youth and Trainee Representation. In 1982, he became a workers’ representative and in 1988 a member of the committee of workers’ representatives.

Rolf Klotz has been on the General Works Council of AUDI AG since 2000. He was elected Vice Chairman of the Works Council of AUDI AG for the Neckarsulm plant in 2007 and became Chairman of the Works Council of AUDI AG for the Neckarsulm plant in 2016. He has also been a member of the Group Works Council of Volkswagen AG since 2007.

Status: January 2018

Peter Mosch has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since July 1, 2001. He has been elected Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG on May 9, 2018.

Peter Mosch was born in Neuburg an der Donau, Germany, on February 15, 1972.

He began training as an industrial mechanic at AUDI AG in 1987 and that same year became a member of the Industriegewerkschaft Metall (IGM) trade union. Following his apprenticeship, Peter Mosch worked as a machinist. From 1993 to 1995, he successfully completed a two-year course to become a foreman with a distinction awarded by the Bavarian Government.

Peter Mosch worked as a foreman in the toolmaking shop in 1995. In 1997, he transferred to assembly line maintenance at Audi, where he worked until 1998.

Peter Mosch first became involved in the Works Council at AUDI AG in 1990. He was initially Chairman of Youth and Trainee Representation (JAV) from 1994 to 1998 and has been a member of the Works Council since 1998, Chairman of the Works Council of  AUDI AG, Ingolstadt plant, and Chairman of the General Works Council of AUDI AG since 2006. Since that time, Peter Mosch has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Group Global Works Council of Volkswagen AG.

Peter Mosch was elected to the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG in 2001. He has been a member of the Presiding Committee of this body since 2006.

Peter Mosch has also been a member of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG since 2006. Within this body, he was Vice Chairman of the Audit Committee from 2013 to 2017. Mosch has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Volkswagen Supervisory Board since 2017. He was also a member of the Supervisory Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE from 2009 to 2017 and was elected to the Standing Committee of this body in 2017.

Alongside his professional commitments, involvement in social issues is a top priority for Peter Mosch. As well as performing voluntary roles in the community and trade union field, he has also served among other things on the Board of Management of the Audi Selbsthilfeeinrichtungen (Audi Self-help Organizations) since 2001.

Status: May 2018

Petra Otte has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since May 9, 2018.

Otte was born in Leipzig, Germany, on December 31, 1973. After studying English and biology at the University of Stuttgart, she started as an editorial trainee at the “Filder Zeitung” newspaper in Stuttgart in 1998. Until the end of 1999, she was a trainee at the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” newspaper.

From 2000 to 2010, Otte worked as a business editor at the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” where she specialized in various areas from IT/telecommunications and the labor market/trade unions to finances/consumers. From 2002 she was also a member of the works council. In 2011, Otte became Deputy Business Editor and was responsible primarily for the automotive industry until the end of 2013.

Since 2014, Otte has been trade union secretary and press spokesperson of IG Metall Baden-Württemberg. In addition, she has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of Aesculap AG in Tuttlingen since 2015.

Status: May 2018

Rainer Schirmer has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since May 9, 2018.

Schirmer was born on September 30, 1966 in Neuenstadt am Kocher. In 1982 he began training as a power systems electronics engineer at Audi NSU Auto Union AG in Neckarsulm and that same year joined the Industriegewerkschaft Metall (IGM) trade union. Following his apprenticeship Rainer Schirmer worked as an electrical engineer for maintenance in various areas of the Neckarsulm plant from 1986 to 2002.

In 2014 and 2015, Schirmer completed further training as a business administrator with the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK).

Rainer Schirmer has been Vice Chairman of the Works Council of AUDI AG, Neckarsulm plant, since September 2016. Since then he has been a member of the General Works Council of AUDI AG and of the Group Works Council of Volkswagen AG. Schirmer is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Volkswagen Employee Foundation (Volkswagen Belegschaftsstiftung) and belongs to the Advisory Board of Salzach Privatstiftung.

Schirmer’s pathway onto the Works Council began in 2000 as a shop steward. Within one year he had become a member of the shop steward governing body for AUDI AG, Neckarsulm plant. He became a Member of the Works Council of AUDI AG, Neckarsulm plant, in 2002. He has belonged to that plant’s Works Committee since 2009.

Status: May 2018

Jörg Schlagbauer has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since February 7, 2006.

Schlagbauer was born in Kösching (Eichstätt), Germany, on September 19, 1977. He began his vocational training as an industrial clerk at AUDI AG in 1995. He subsequently worked as a clerical assistant in the accounts receivable department in 1998. In addition to his professional posts, he studied at the administration and business academy in Munich from 1999 until 2003, graduating with a degree in business management.

Schlagbauer has been active in the area of employee representation since 1997 – initially as a member, later as Vice Chairman and, from 1999, as Chairman of the Youth and Trainee Representation as well as the General Youth and Trainee Representation. In 2002, he became a Member of the Works Council at Audi. Since 2006, he has been a Member of the General Works Council, the Economic Committee and the Supervisory Board as well as the Executive Works Committee of the Works Council. He has been a Member (since 2010) and Vice Chairman (since 2017) of the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board. Schlagbauer has also worked for IG Metall Ingolstadt and Bavaria since 1995. In addition to his role as a workers’ representative, he has been a member of the IG Metall committee of workers’ representatives at Audi since 1999. From 2004, he worked in a voluntary capacity initially as Vice Chairman and since 2006 as Chairman of IG Metall at Audi.

Alongside his professional responsibilities, Jörg Schlagbauer has been Chairman of the Administrative Board of Audi BKK since 2010, and Chairman of the Administrative Board of the BKK Landesverband Bayern since 2011. In 2014, he was also elected Deputy Leader of the SPD on the Ingolstadt City Council and became a member of the Administrative Board of Sparkasse Ingolstadt.

Status: January 2018

Irene Schulz has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since July 11, 2016.

Ms. Schulz was born in Werne, Germany, on April 10, 1964. After receiving her general qualification for university entrance, she studied political science in Aachen, Freiburg and Berlin from 1983 to 1989. Schulz joined the Postbank Berlin in 1985. From 1991 to 1993, she was an educational consultant and head of the training center run by the DGB (Federation of German Trade Unions) in Berlin before joining the DGB district of Berlin-Brandenburg in 1993. Ms. Schulz was in charge of Büro Arbeit und Leben e.V. in the IG Metall-Haus in Berlin from 1998 to 2004 and then became trade union secretary of IG Metall. Following her transfer to the district management of Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony in 2012, the focus of her work remained on Siemens and the IT sector. Ms. Schulz was elected Executive Member of the Board of Management of IG Metall in 2013.

In addition to her activities on the Supervisory Board at AUDI AG, Ms. Schulz holds a mandate on the Supervisory Board of Osram Licht AG & Osram GmbH. She is also a Member of the Board of Management of the Hans Böckler Foundation and a Member of the Administrative Board of the Otto Brenner Foundation.

Status: January 2018

Helmut Späth has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since May 25, 2010.

Späth was born in Klingsmoos (Neuburg-Schrobenhausen), Germany, on May 19, 1956. In 1971, he started his vocational training as a toolmaker at AUDI AG. After that, he worked from 1974 to 1981 in the toolmaking shop in Ingolstadt.

Späth has been active in the area of employee representation since 1973. He began as a member of the Youth and Trainee Representation and took over as chairman six years later. At the same time, he became a member of the General Youth and Trainee Representation. He has been a Member of the Works Council at AUDI AG since 1981. From 1984 to 1987 and from 1990 to the present day, he has also been a Member of the Works Committee. In addition, he has been a Member of the General Works Council since 1997. In 2010, he was elected to the Economic Committee and the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG.

In addition to his professional posts, Späth was a member of the IG Metall local executive committee in Ingolstadt for 38 years. He has been a Member of the Administrative Board of Audi BKK since 1990, a Member of Volkswagen Pension Trust e. V. since 2010, and was elected to its Supervisory Board one year later.

Status: January 2018

Stefanie Ulrich has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG since September 14, 2017.

Ulrich was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on February 25, 1965. After graduating in German Studies and Political Science, Ulrich started her career with the VW Group in 1990 as part of a trainee program at Volkswagen AG.

Between 1992 and 2007, Ulrich held various roles in human resources management at Volkswagen AG. These included the position of Head of Human Resources at Volkswagen’s Salzgitter engine plant. She subsequently transferred to Audi Brussels, where she served as Human Resources Director from 2007 to 2010. Since 2011, Stefanie Ulrich has been Human Resources Director at the Audi Neckarsulm location.

Ulrich is also a Member of the Administrative Board of the BKK with its head office in Ingolstadt and of the Administrative Board of the Federal Labor Office in Heilbronn.

Status: January 2018