Škoda Auto has a new boss. He became Thomas Schäfer, who joins Škoda from the South African representation of Volkswagen with operations for the entire sub-Saharan African region.
As expected, Thomas Schäfer was elected the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of Škoda Auto. The company officially confirmed the information at noon.
The newly elected Chairman of the Board of Directors will replace Bernhard Maier, who ends up at the helm of the company after less than five years.
Fifty-year-old Schäfer joined the top management of Volkswagen in 2012. Since 2015, he has been the CEO of the South African representation, covering the entire sub-Saharan African region. He is also President of the African Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAAM).
Volkswagen director Herbert Diess said in Saturday’s issue of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that Skoda was not “aggressive enough” in terms of volume of cars sold in competition with Koreans and French. According to him, the carmaker must strengthen its position in the segment of cost-effective cars.
Trade union leader Jaroslav Povšík made it known that it is not yet clear where the probable new head of Škoda Auto Thomas Schäfer will direct the Škoda in Mladá Boleslav.
“For me, it’s a so-called rabbit pulled out of a hat, which I’ve practically never heard of. It comes from South Africa, within the brand it’s called a bigger workshop, it’s something smaller than Kvasiny,” said Povšík.
He will therefore monitor his work. “A month ago, I talked to him, I asked him number one, whether he was coming to dampen Škoda or develop it. And he said: I always play for the team where I am the captain,” said Povšík.
Thomas Schafer (50)
Thomas Schäfer was born on April 1, 1970 in Marburg, Hesse. In 1994 he studied production technology at the Berufsakademie in Mannheim.
Already during his studies in 1991, he started working for the Daimler car company in Mannheim. From 1994 to 1998 he worked in various positions at the plant in Rastatt and for less than a year he also worked in the USA. He then worked until 2002 in senior management positions at DaimlerChrysler in South Africa.
In 2002, he co-founded the DaimlerChrysler subsidiary in Malaysia and assumed the position of Vice President of Production. From 2005 to 2012, he worked in senior management positions at Daimler in Germany, and in this capacity he also participated in the expansion of Mercedes-Benz cars to China.
In 2012, he joined the top management of the Volkswagen Group. Since 2015, he has been the CEO of the South African representation of the VW Group, with operations for the entire sub-Saharan African region. He is also President of the African Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAAM).
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