Handelsblatt: Volkswagen’s new boss – The group’s secret playmaker

Oliver Blume is a passionate football player, comments Handelsblatt about the new CEO of Volkswagen. In the club he played as a libero. In other words, he is the “free man” in defence, who has no direct opponent on the pitch and shapes play from the back. The 54-year-old had an eye for his teammates from an early age. And this goes beyond sports.

Although the libero position no longer exists in modern football: Blume’s role at the VW Group so far, however, describes him well. The Braunschweig-born is not only head of Porsche, but has also been responsible for production planning across the entire VW Group for years. While VW boss Herbert Diess spun at the front as the appointed and eccentric leader of the pack, Blume held the shop together from within. From September, he will replace Diess at the helm of VW.

Blume is a product of the VW Group. He studied mechanical engineering in his hometown of Braunschweig and later obtained his doctorate in Shanghai. Within the VW group, he initially held positions at Audi and Seat. In 2009 he took over production planning at VW headquarters. That’s why he knows almost all the Group 120 factories inside out better than anyone else.

Since 2013, Blume has been head of production at Porsche. In October 2015 he was promoted to head of production when Matthias Müller moved to Wolfsburg after the emissions scandal broke. The diesel crisis thus probably advanced his career. Unlike his colleagues in engine development, Blume had little to fear from production.

With his successes at Porsche, Blume earned the trust of the Porsche and Piech families. With the Taycan, he was the first in the group to venture into electrification. Blume has repeatedly – and recently increasingly – made independent advances at Porsche. For example, in production planning, battery development, hydrogen production or software designs. Ultimately, this also led to the planned IPO.

Blume showed in his own way how things could be made better. And without being unfaithful. It has always had the support of the owners’ families. And he could be more and more sure of it. After all, after the losing takeover battle and the subsequent forced integration of Porsche into the VW group, nothing was greater than the longing of the owner families for Porsche to always have a special role.

The low point of the Porsche family is unforgettable, when Wolfgang Porsche, standing in the rain in July 2009 and with tears in his eyes promises: “You can count on me: the Porsche legend lives on and will never be lost.” Blume protected and nurtured the Porsche legend. Even in the Corona and chip crisis, it achieved double-digit returns thanks to strict cost discipline. For example, billions flowed from the Porsche factory in Zuffenhausen to the group in Wolfsburg. And the planned IPO also has a family element: The family maintains the Porsche legend.

There was almost no way to avoid Blume

Blume’s approach shows diplomatic skill as well as healthy confidence. “To me, it’s not so much about confidence as it is about entrepreneurship. We’ve been doing this for years.” Over time, Bloom, a strong team player, rallied more and more managers and owners behind him.

Because Blume is not polarizing, he can smooth the waters and has never come into open conflict with company boss Herbert Diess. It had been clear for years that if Diess had to be replaced, there would be no way around Blume. Bosch and ZF should also breathe a sigh of relief. After all, Diess had often cheated the big suppliers with his individual efforts, such as in the field of electrification, the rejection of hybrids or fuel cells.