After less than two years, Thomas Schäfer leaves the management of Mladá Boleslav’s Škoda Auto. His successor is again a German, this time Klaus Zellmer, who has been chairman of the Volkswagen board for the past two years, but previously worked for the Porsche brand for 23 years.
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His choice was not easy. “Everyone had a tip and these tips gradually fell. In the end, when we were in dispute, we agreed to give the floor to the families of the majority owners, ie the families of Porsche and Piëch, “says Jaroslav Povšík, member of the Supervisory Board and head of the Škoda Auto unions, about the election of the new Škoda head. However, he adds that he still has a very good feeling from meeting Klauz Zellmer.
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“He is a very modern-minded, fresh person with visions. It was obvious that he highly valued the honor of driving a Škoda Auto. He emphasized this several times. His work and life portfolio also looks good, “says Povšík.
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“I was not there, I can only guess. He is a leader, a dynamic person who has certain qualities. But they decided to do so – the man in the Czech Republic is responsible for a huge fortune, “he adds in an interview with SZ Byznys.
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How difficult was the decision about the new Škoda boss?
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It was very exciting. Historically, such a decision has never been made. There were a lot of candidates, it was all discussed a lot, I was involved in the selection process. I would call the result – when two people fight, the third one laughs.
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Everyone had a tip and these tips gradually fell. In the end, when we were in dispute, we agreed to give the floor to the families of the majority owners, the Porsche and the Piëch.
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The individual candidates gradually went to the interviews with both families, and in the end only one remained in the finals. But then the decision changed and even though there was only one finalist, someone else eventually appeared. The families made the proposal and we agreed to accept it.
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Why did families have to decide?
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Families always express themselves, but there has never been such a situation that so many people are applying and so many people are recommended. I haven’t experienced that in my entire career. We were looking for pros and cons, there was one really strong candidate, but there was a bit of tension and so we finally said we would leave it to the families. And you made recommendations.
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He is a leader, a dynamic person who has certain qualities. He is a man who will be responsible for huge assets in the Czech Republic.
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Why did families recommend Klaus Zellmer?
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I wasn’t there, I can only guess. He is a leader, a dynamic person who has certain qualities. He is a man who will be responsible for huge assets in the Czech Republic.
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Was the second candidate Martin Jahn, whose name was often inflected in connection with this position?
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What is Klaus Zellmer like?
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Fourteen days ago, we met together – including Thomas Schäfer – in Prague. I felt very good about him. He is a very modern-minded, fresh person with visions. It was obvious that he highly valued the honor of driving a Škoda Auto. He emphasized this several times. His work and life portfolio also looks good.
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Will it be difficult at Škoda Auto?
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Elite cars were made at Porsche. He will now become the head of a so-called high-volume brand. We say that we have “green blood” and he promised me that he would have it too. I also explained the concept of our representation to him and promised to give him support.
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It starts on July 1 and enters a very difficult time – there has never been one. When Thomas Schäfer joined, he entered the Covvid era. Klaus Zellmer enters the covid, chip and war times. There are big risks everywhere and everything is now upside down. He will have a difficult task and we must help him. At the same time, we will follow in his footsteps. I already told him he had to be a good sparring partner with Thomas Schaffer.
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We have to meet again next week and make a whole meeting plan. But I feel good about him.
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Is this the person you introduced to Škoda Auto?
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We’ll see how it goes – he must be the natural head of the board that people will follow. The board must pull together and must not argue with each other. Thomas Schäfer could do this – he had minimal collisions, which he did not take as a collision, and he managed everything with foresight. He was a nonchalant man who had no negative emotions. That’s why I thought it was a pity he was leaving. But Klaus Zellmer looks very similar.
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