Powels will report directly to the CEO of Seat SA, Wayne Griffiths, and will take over his position on September 1, 2021, while Kai Vogler will join the company on October 1, 2021.
“We warmly welcome David Powels and Kai Vogler. Both are talented professionals with extensive experience. Your professional background in the Volkswagen Group will make a positive contribution in the key areas of finance and IT as well as sales and marketing, ”said Wayne Griffiths.
Powels has more than 30 years of international experience within the group, including in China, Brazil, Germany and South Africa, where he originally comes from. Since the end of 2017 he has been First Vice-President and Executive Vice-President for Commercial at SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co. in China, a joint venture between SAIC Motor and the Volkswagen Group.
David Powels graduated from Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth with a degree in Commerce and was licensed as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa. He also completed a post graduate management development program at the University of Cape Town. Powels started his career at Volkswagen South Africa in 1989. After working in Germany and Brazil, he was appointed CEO of Volkswagen Group South Africa in 2007. He then was President and CEO of Volkswagen do Brasil and the Volkswagen South America region.
Griffiths thanked Carsten Isensee, who is retiring after 34 years in the Volkswagen Group, for his work as the predecessor of Powels: “Carsten was of enormous value to the company. He led SEAT SA through the most difficult months of the pandemic and set up a liquidity protection program. I would like to thank him for his commitment during the time we have worked together. “
Vogler, who is replacing Wayne Griffiths in his role as Director of Sales and Marketing, is a specialist in new business and sales models and has an extensive international background. Since 2019 he has been Regional Manager Europe at Volkswagen Financial Services AG with a focus on sales and marketing and with overall responsibility for all European countries except Germany. Within the Volkswagen Group, he held various positions at Volkswagen Financial Services AG, Volkswagen Moller Bilfinans AS and Porsche Financial Services in Germany and Norway. Kai Vogler earned a university degree in business informatics from the University of Essen. (red)
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