FRANKFURT -- Audi named new finance, procurement and personnel chiefs in a shakeup of its top management ahead of the arrival of its new CEO, Markus Duesmann.
Audi "is realigning itself for the future," said Herbert Diess, who is the brand's chairman in addition to his role of CEO of Audi parent, Volkswagen Group, said in a news release.
Audi is struggling from the aftermath of its role in VW Group's emissions scandal, which lead to the firing of long-term CEO Rupert Stader and several engineers.
The brand's growth has also stalled - its global sales fell 1.2 percent to 1.51 million in the first 10 months.
Duesmann, 50, a former engine development expert and head of purchasing at BMW, is tasked with reviving Audi's reputation as a technology leader, including injecting new meaning into the company's advertising slogan "Vorsprung Durch Technik," or "advancement through technology."
Audi was a major research and development hub within VW Group, setting standards in aerodynamic efficiency, lightweight aluminum construction, dual-clutch gearbox technology and four-wheel drive systems.
It is now important for Duesmann and his future team "to make Vorsprung durch Technik an unmistakable maxim for action at Audi. This must be the mission of the Audi management," Diess said in the news release.
Duesmann will become Audi CEO on April 1. He will also have board-level responsibility for r&d at parent VW Group. Audi's current CEO, Bram Schot, leaves at the end of March.
The three new additions to Audi's management board are:
Arno Antlitz, 49, who becomes Audi new finance chief on March 1. Antlitz moves to the job from Volkswagen brand where he has been head of controlling and accounting since 2010.
Audi's current finance chief, Alexander Seitz, 57, will take the same role at VW brand.
