Dive Brief:
- Porsche Cars North America President and CEO Kjell Gruner will leave the company effective immediately, the company announced Thursday.
- The company has not selected his successor but plans to announce one soon.
- COO Joe Lawrence and CFO Thierry Kartochian will lead the organization together until the company names a new CEO.
Dive Insight:
Gruner’s exit is somewhat surprising, as he oversaw record sales growth since taking the helm in 2020. Following its best U.S. sales year in 2022, when it delivered 70,065 vehicles, PCNA delivered 17,440 cars in North America during the first quarter of 2023, a 34% year-over-year increase and a record for Q1.
“We thank Kjell Gruner for his excellent work at Porsche,” said Detlev von Platen, member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG, in a statement. "First as the Head of Marketing globally and then leading the American market, he has played an important role in the global development of the Porsche brand in recent years.”
The departure of Gruner is one of several recent high-profile executive changes at the Volkswagen Group, which owns Porsche and Audi. Audi announced last week that Gernot Döllner would replace Markus Duesmann as the company’s CEO on Sept. 1. Gruner’s departure is the third notable leadership change at the Volkswagen Group since CEO Oliver Bloom took the helm last September.
