Porsche has replaced two senior bosses following a drawn-out and public battle in response to slowing sales and rising costs.
At the start of February, the German car maker issued a statement in which it reported that its supervisory board chairman, Wolfgang Porsche, had been tasked with deciding if deputy chairman and chief financial officer Lutz Meschke and sales and marketing director Detlev von Platen should have their contracts immediately terminated.
The pair had been under intense scrutiny, blamed for the company’s downturn and faltering share price. More senior figures, such as chairman Oliver Blume, are also thought to be in the firing line.
Today, Porsche announced "a mutual decision" had been agreed to terminate Meschke's and von Platen's contracts. They are succeeded on Porsche’s executive board by Jochen Breckner and Matthias Becker (pictured below). Breckner will take on the role of overseeing finance and IT, and Becker will be responsible for sales and marketing
Breckner previously headed up Porsche's general secretariat and corporate development. Becker was head of the overseas and emerging markets, a division he developed into one of Porsche's “strong sales pillars”, the brand said – suggesting his appointment has an eye on reviving the brand’s faltering finances.
Their appointments means Meschke leaves the company after 24 years and von Platen after 28 years. "We would like to thank Lutz Meschke for his great commitment and his many years of successful work for Porsche. He has decisively shaped the positive development of this company with a high level of commitment and strategic foresight and he resolutely drove the IPO,” said Wolfgang Porsche.
“I would also like to thank Detlev von Platen. His many years of strong commitment have shaped Porsche. His commitment to the development of global markets is particularly noteworthy.”
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