Martin Winterkorn
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Martin Winterkorn (born 24 May 1947) is a German former business executive who was chairman of the board of management (
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
, ''Vorstandsvorsitzender'' in German) of Volkswagen AG, the parent company of the
Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...
, chairman of the supervisory board of
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...
, and chairman of the board of management of
Porsche Automobil Holding SE Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE (), is a German multinational corporation primarily known as a holding company of Volkswagen Group with investments in the automotive industry. Porsche SE is headquartered in Zuffenh ...
. He succeeded
Bernd Pischetsrieder Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder (born 15 February 1948) is a German automobile engineer and manager. Early life and education Pischetsrieder was born in Munich, Bavaria, and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich fro ...
as CEO of Volkswagen AG in 2007. Prior to that, he had been the chairman of the board of management of the Volkswagen Group subsidiary Audi AG. Winterkorn resigned from Volkswagen on 23 September 2015, several days after an emissions cheating scandal was revealed that concerned the company's diesel cars. He resigned as chairman of Audi on 11 November 2015, after further information associated with the scandal was revealed in regard to VW's gasoline-powered engines. Winterkorn was on the board of supervisors for German football club
Bayern München Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's association football, foo ...
from 22 February 2003 until 18 December 2018. Winterkorn was credited for the successful partnership between Audi and Bayern. Winterkorn was criminally indicted over the emissions cheating scandal in the United States on 3 May 2018 on charges of fraud and conspiracy. In April 2019 he was criminally indicted on charges of fraud in Germany. He is currently a fugitive of justice in the United States, and is wanted by the
Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
for
Conspiracy to Defraud the United States Conspiracy against the United States, or conspiracy to defraud the United States,§ 92318 U.S.C. § 371—Conspiracy to Defraud the United States U.S. Department of Justice's ''United States Attorneys' Manual''. is a federal offense in the United ...
, Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act, and three counts of
Wire Fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to fraud, defraud another, and are Federal crime in the United States, federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the ...
.


Biography


Education

Winterkorn studied metallurgy and metal physics at the
University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart (german: Universität Stuttgart) is a leading research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany wit ...
from 1966 to 1973. From 1973 to 1977 he was a PhD student at the
Max-Planck-Institute The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of Germany, German research ins ...
for Metal Research and Metal Physics, where he received his doctorate in 1977. He played
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
as a
goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
.Muller, Joann (6 May 2013).
How Volkswagen Will Rule The World
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Career

Winterkorn embarked on his career in 1977, as a specialist assistant in the research division "Process Engineering" at
Robert Bosch GmbH Robert Bosch GmbH (; ), commonly known as Bosch and stylized as BOSCH, is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 1886. Bosch is 9 ...
. From 1978 to 1981, he headed the refrigerant compressor development group "Substances and Processes" at Robert Bosch and Bosch-Siemens-Hausgeräte GmbH. In 1993 Winterkorn became head of Group Quality Assurance at Volkswagen AG, and was appointed General Manager of Volkswagen AG with power of attorney in March 1994. He was additionally responsible for the VW Group Product Management from June 1995. In January 1996, Winterkorn took over from Herbert Schuster as Member of the Brand Board of Management for "Technical Development" for the Volkswagen brand. From July 2000, he was Member of the VW Group Board of Management for Technical Development. Winterkorn was instrumental in getting Volkswagen CEO
Ferdinand Piëch Ferdinand Karl Piëch (; 17 April 1937 – 25 August 2019) was an Austrian business magnate, engineer and executive who was the chairman of the executive board (''Vorstandsvorsitzender'') of Volkswagen Group in 1993–2002 and the chairman of th ...
to approve the production of the
New Beetle The Volkswagen New Beetle is a compact car, introduced by Volkswagen in 1997, drawing heavy inspiration from the exterior design of the original Beetle. Unlike the original Beetle, the New Beetle has its engine in the front, driving the fron ...
. Winterkorn had been chairman of the board of management of Audi AG since 1 March 2002. He headed the
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...
brand group, including the brands
SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...
and
Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...
, which was formed on 1 January 2002. Winterkorn also assumed responsibility for Technical Development at Audi AG with effect from 1 January 2003. In his capacity as CEO of the Board of Management of Audi AG, Winterkorn was also Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG. He succeeded
Bernd Pischetsrieder Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder (born 15 February 1948) is a German automobile engineer and manager. Early life and education Pischetsrieder was born in Munich, Bavaria, and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich fro ...
as CEO of Volkswagen AG on 1 January 2007, and by 2014 he was the highest paid CEO of all companies listed on Germany's blue-chip DAX stock market. Since June 2003, Winterkorn has served as an honorary professor of the
Budapest University of Technology and Economics The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( hu, Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is the most significant university of technology in Hungary and is considered the world's oldes ...
, in recognition of his service to the promotion of research at the establishment. He was featured both in the 2007 and the 2008 Power List of American automotive magazine ''
Motor Trend ''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 19 ...
''. After he succeeded Pischetsrieder in 2007, Winterkorn embarked on the "Strategie 2018" with the goal to bypass
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
and
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
by the year 2018, to become the world's largest automaker. Among Winterkorn's initiatives are the platforms MQB and
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
which standardize the area between accelerator pedal and front wheels (including engines) where 60% of the development costs occur, to reduce cost while increasing design flexibility for the rest of the car. In the VW Group, he was viewed as having attention to detail, being "product-focused" and "methodical and precise", but also demanding.


Diesel emissions scandal

In September 2015, Winterkorn apologized for Volkswagen AG having installed software in its diesel cars to allow the vehicles to pass emissions tests by decreasing emissions when the vehicle detected it was undergoing testing but otherwise pollute at amounts well beyond legally allowed limits. Winterkorn confirmed that Volkswagen AG could face fines of up to $18bn, but had not issued a recall at the time of Winterkorn's departure. Winterkorn blamed "the terrible mistakes of a few people," whom he did not name, for the international scandal. Winterkorn resigned as CEO on 23 September 2015, as he accepted responsibility for the scandal while asserting that he was "not aware of any wrongdoing on my part." Winterkorn additionally resigned as
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...
chairman on 11 November 2015. The resignation came a week after additional revelations were made public regarding further vehicle emission test rigging, this time in gasoline-powered vehicles, in amounts approaching one million.


Trial

In September 2020, the Braunschweig state court ruled that Winterkorn would face trial over his role in the emissions scandal. He faces charges of fraud and
market manipulation In economics and finance, market manipulation is a type of market abuse where there is a deliberate attempt to interfere with the free and fair operation of the market; the most blatant of cases involve creating false or misleading appearances ...
regarding the installation of the illegal “defeat device” in Volkswagen cars but knowingly failing to inform the markets in good time. The trial is waiting to be scheduled. Winterkorn has since denied all charges.


Winterkorn indictments


=United States

= Winterkorn was charged in a United States indictment with fraud and conspiracy in the case on 3 May 2018. U.S. Attorney General
Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United State ...
stated Winterkorn would be prosecuted vigorously, and added “If you try to deceive the United States, then you will pay a heavy price.” The criminal charges increased the likelihood that Winterkorn would face similar actions in his native Germany, and impact an existing shareholders lawsuit against Volkswagen. Additionally, the indictment raised questions regarding Volkswagen’s internal review of the incident, which at the time of the Winterkorn indictment had not been made public. Winterkorn had repeatedly denied knowledge of the widespread Volkswagen emissions test cheating up to the indictment, including his statements before the German parliament, the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
. The chairman of the committee looking into the scandal, Herbert Behrens, was reported to be incredulous at Winterkorn’s statement that he had not heard the term
defeat device A defeat device is any motor vehicle hardware, software, or design that interferes with or disables emissions controls under real-world driving conditions, even if the vehicle passes formal emissions testing.United States Code of Federal Regulat ...
(the technology at the heart of the scandal) prior to the first news reports about the emissions lawbreaking in 2015. The indictment specifically references a 2015 business conference in
Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's hea ...
, Germany where Winterkorn is alleged to have been briefed on, and approved the “continued concealment” of, the defeat device software from U.S. regulators, and notes emails from that year from VW’s then-compliance liaison Oliver Schmidt, who pled guilty in the case in 2017, receiving a seven year jail term.


=Germany

= On 15 April 2019, he was also charged in Germany by regional prosecutors of the city of
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
of fraud, of violating laws prohibiting unfair competition as well as
defalcation Defalcation is misappropriation of funds by a person trusted with their charge; also, the act of misappropriation, or an instance thereof. The term is more specifically used by the United States Bankruptcy Code to describe a category of acts that t ...
(''Untreue''). In January 2020 it was reported that the German judge in the case stated that Winterkorn might be allowed to keep 12 million dollars in bonuses, and possibly walk free from the charges. Prosecutors in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
dropped a market manipulation investigation after deferring to the case in Braunschweig. In June 2021, it was reported that Winterkorn among other former top managers should pay to Volkswagen around €10 Mn in compensation.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winterkorn, Martin 1947 births Living people People from Leonberg German Roman Catholics German chief executives Chief executives in the automobile industry Volkswagen Group executives Audi people Scania AB people Porsche people FC Bayern Munich board members Fugitives wanted by the United States Fugitives wanted on fraud charges Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg