Renault names ex-VW exec Guido Haak as head of future product planning

PARIS -- Renault Group has named Guido Haak, a former Volkswagen Group executive, as executive vice president advanced products and planning group.

Haak replaces Ali Kassai, who left the automaker last year. He will report to CEO Luca de Meo and serve on the Board of Management.

In his new role, Haak will direct the Advanced Product Planning Group, which works with design and engineering teams to create future products. Using data from customers and the competition, the group creates "roadmaps" for cross-product areas such as engines, electronics platforms and other technologies, Renault said Monday in a news release.

"With his successful experience in major groups, I am sure that he will be a strong asset for the reconquest of the C segment and more widely FOR the success of the vehicles of our Renaulution plan," De Meo said in the release. The appointment comes as Renault and alliance partner Nissan prepare to announce large investments in electrification and new models planned to 2030.

Haak, 55, graduated from the Technical University of Berlin and holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the Free University of Berlin. He joined McKinsey in 1998 as a consultant, and then in 2005 joined VW Group as head of Audi’s first modular framework. Haak held positions in product management,  strategy and marketing at Audi and VW brands until 2015, when he was appointed head of product management at Skoda. He served in that role until June 2021.

He starts in his new position on Feb. 1 and will report to de Meo.