Volkswagen Group makes new appointments to key sales positions

Dr. Andreas Offermann (56) has been appointed Executive Committee Member for Sales and Marketing of Seat S.A. with effect from September 1. He is to succeed Paul Sevin (62), who will continue to be active for the Group as a consultant and will report direct to Christian
Klingler, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG responsible for sales and marketing, in this function. Offermann's previous function is to be assumed by James Muir (54), who will be responsible for the global coordination of the Volkswagen Group's National Sales Companies (NSC) in the future. Lars Himmer (44) has been appointed Head of Group Sales Strategy and Projects. In this function, he succeeds Johannes Thammer (57), who has been Managing Director of Audi Volkswagen Ltd. Korea since December 2012.

Dr. Andreas Offermann had been responsible for the global coordination of the National Sales Companies of the Volkswagen Group since 2011. Previously, he was responsible for sales operations with Porsche AG. Dr. Offermann holds a degree in management and a doctorate from the Department of Market Research and Marketing of Cologne University. After leaving university, he held various management positions at BMW AG, including responsibility for production planning for import markets, and was head of product and volume planning, marketing planning and financial controlling for the overseas region. In 1994, he became Head of Export Sales with Porsche and, in 1999, he received responsibility for worldwide sales.

In his new position, James Muir is to report direct to Christian Klingler, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG responsible for sales and marketing. Muir studied European marketing and joined the sales team of Ford UK in 1987. Until 2001, he held various responsible positions with Ford, finally as Head of Marketing Services. Subsequently, he held a number of management positions with Mazda and was President and CEO of Mazda Europe from 2005. In September 2009, Muir was appointed Chairman of Seat S.A., where he has successfully spearheaded the restructuring of the company.

Lars Himmer graduated from the IMD Business School in Lausanne with an Executive MBA. Himmer, who is a Danish citizen, joined the diplomatic service in 1994. In 2010, following various management positions at Volvo, he joined MAN Truck&Bus AG, where he was initially Head of the CIS Sales Region before becoming Head of Sales Eastern Europe in November 2012.

Paul Sevin is a graduate of the HEC business school in Paris. He started his career with Peugeot in 1975. With Peugeot, he held various management positions, finally as Head of Global Marketing and Trading Strategy from 2008. In 2010, he joined Seat S.A, as Head of Sales and Marketing. He was appointed Executive Committee Member for Sales and Marketing in 2011. In his function as consultant, Sevin is to report direct to Christian Klingler, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG responsible for sales and marketing.

Johannes Thammer holds a degree in mechanical engineering and started his professional career with Audi in 1982. Following management positions with BMW and Toyota, he rejoined Audi in 2005. In 2010, he transferred to Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, where he was appointed Head of Group Sales Strategy and Projects. He has been Managing Director of Audi Volkswagen Ltd. Korea since December 2012.

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