Volvo Cars (VOLCAR-B.ST)* today announced organizational changes that it said, “are designed to increase simplicity, speed and collaboration and reduce complexity by flattening our structure in the Commercial part of the business.” It is enhancing responsibilities of the regions and empowering the employees that are closest to the customers to make key decisions. In a surprising move, Björn Annwall, the Chief Commercial Officer & Deputy CEO will support the transition of the new organization before taking his next step “outside of Volvo Cars.” The stock is currently trading at an all-time low.**
“In a rapidly changing world, we need to ensure our organization is equipped to navigate a more challenging market. We are now regrouping our commercial leadership team with a focus on making Volvo Cars even stronger with increased speed and efficiency,” said Jim Rowan, CEO at Volvo Cars.
Executive Changes as of 1 November 2024
- Arek Nowinski will become President, International Markets and lead our Europe, US & Canada, APEC, Latin America and Global Importers business as well as volume planning and global offer.
- Gretchen Saegh-Flemming, who leads our marketing teams globally, will lead Customer Experience & Marketing going forwards, which will include brand, customer care and customer experience insights and analytics.
- Oscar Bertilsson Olsborg, will become Head of Global Commercial operations. Alongside retailer- and service development he will be responsible for Commercial Digital, and will join the GMT, reporting to Jim Rowan.
- Erik Severinson, Chief Product & Strategy Officer will lead commercial strategy, in addition to company and product strategy, program management, sustainability, digital, quality and energy business.
Group Management Team Roles
- President, APAC, Xiaolin Yuan
- President, International Markets, Arek Nowinski
- President, US/Canada, Mike Cottone
- Head of Global Customer Experience & Marketing, Gretchen Saegh-Fleming
- Head of Global Sustainability, Vanessa Butani
- Head of Global Performance Steering, Fredrik Hansson
- Head of Global Software Engineering, Alwin Bakkenes
- Head of Global Design, Jeremy Offer
- Head of Global Digital Core, Fredrik Olsson
- Head of Global Quality, Johan Taws
- Head of Global Commercial Operations, Oscar Bertilsson Olsborg
- Senior Advisor, Geert Bruyneel
“Over the past nine years, Björn has established a strong team around him that will continue the important work ahead, and I look forward to working closely together with him to enable this transition. I would also like to extend my warmest thanks to Björn for his tremendous contribution to Volvo Cars over the years, including the pivotal part he played in our successful listing on the stock market, advancing our shift towards electrification and our expansion into new markets,” said Jim Rowan, CEO, Volvo Cars.
“It has been a privilege to be part of Volvo Cars journey these years in various roles. We have grown in sales volume and market earnings, gone from a private to a listed company, strengthened our brand and digital capabilities, built a strong team, and advanced our position in the premium market. Volvo Cars remains on an exciting journey in electrification and has an important role to play in the automotive sector going forwards,” says Björn Annwall.
*Volvo Cars was founded in 1927. For the full year 2023, Volvo Car Group recorded a record-breaking core operating profit of SEK 25.6 billion. Revenue in 2023 amounted to an all-time high of SEK 399.3 billion, as global sales reached a record 708,716 cars. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of Zhejiang Geely Holding since 2010. As of December 2023, Volvo Cars employed ~43,400 full-time employees. Volvo Cars’ head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars’ production plants are located in Gothenburg, Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (US), Chengdu, Daqing and Taizhou (China). The company also has R&D and design centers in Gothenburg and Shanghai (China).
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Deputy CEO Björn Annwall Leaves Volvo Cars
Volvo Cars (VOLCAR-B.ST)* today announced organizational changes that it said, “are designed to increase simplicity, speed and collaboration and reduce complexity by flattening our structure in the Commercial part of the business.” It is enhancing responsibilities of the regions and empowering the employees that are closest to the customers to make key decisions. In a surprising move, Björn Annwall, the Chief Commercial Officer & Deputy CEO will support the transition of the new organization before taking his next step “outside of Volvo Cars.” The stock is currently trading at an all-time low.**
“In a rapidly changing world, we need to ensure our organization is equipped to navigate a more challenging market. We are now regrouping our commercial leadership team with a focus on making Volvo Cars even stronger with increased speed and efficiency,” said Jim Rowan, CEO at Volvo Cars.
Executive Changes as of 1 November 2024
Group Management Team Roles
“Over the past nine years, Björn has established a strong team around him that will continue the important work ahead, and I look forward to working closely together with him to enable this transition. I would also like to extend my warmest thanks to Björn for his tremendous contribution to Volvo Cars over the years, including the pivotal part he played in our successful listing on the stock market, advancing our shift towards electrification and our expansion into new markets,” said Jim Rowan, CEO, Volvo Cars.
“It has been a privilege to be part of Volvo Cars journey these years in various roles. We have grown in sales volume and market earnings, gone from a private to a listed company, strengthened our brand and digital capabilities, built a strong team, and advanced our position in the premium market. Volvo Cars remains on an exciting journey in electrification and has an important role to play in the automotive sector going forwards,” says Björn Annwall.
*Volvo Cars was founded in 1927. For the full year 2023, Volvo Car Group recorded a record-breaking core operating profit of SEK 25.6 billion. Revenue in 2023 amounted to an all-time high of SEK 399.3 billion, as global sales reached a record 708,716 cars. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of Zhejiang Geely Holding since 2010. As of December 2023, Volvo Cars employed ~43,400 full-time employees. Volvo Cars’ head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars’ production plants are located in Gothenburg, Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (US), Chengdu, Daqing and Taizhou (China). The company also has R&D and design centers in Gothenburg and Shanghai (China).
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