With effect from October 1, 2024, David Powels will take over the responsibilities of Patrik A. Mayer as CFO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars.
“In these times, the finance department is undoubtedly of great importance. As CFO of the Volkswagen brand, Patrik Mayer made a significant contribution to the structured and successful launch of the performance program. David Powel will build on this. And at the same time – under even more difficult conditions – provide impetus for competitive costs and structures. It is also about leveraging the synergies within the Brand Group Core with the utmost consistency,” says Thomas Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Brand Group Core & CEO Volkswagen Brand.
“David’s contribution has been crucial to the transformation of our company and has helped us achieve our best financial results to date. His role in returning SEAT S.A. to profitability has been key to the growth of our company. I thank him for the support he has given me and SEAT S.A. and I am convinced that he will continue to do a great job as he joins the Board of the Volkswagen brand and we count on his support in the implementation of the SEAT and CUPRA strategy,” says Wayne Griffiths, CEO SEAT and CUPRA. “To continue our journey towards sustainable profitability, it is essential to have experienced and qualified leaders like Patrik Mayer on board. We are very pleased to welcome him to SEAT and CUPRA.”
David Powels graduated in Commerce from Nelson Mandela University of Port Elizabeth and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa. He also completed a postgraduate degree in Management Development at the University of Cape Town. Powels started his career at Volkswagen South Africa in 1989. After working in Germany and Brazil, he was appointed CEO of Volkswagen Group South Africa in 2007.
He then became President and CEO of Volkswagen Brazil and the Volkswagen Region South America. Since the end of 2017, he has held the position of First Vice-President and Executive Vice-President for Commercial at SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co. in China, and since September 1, 2021, Powels has been Board Member for Finance and IT at SEAT S.A.
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Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) is a beautiful city located on the coast in the Eastern Cape Province and is known as the “Friendly City”, with other towns in this district including Kariega (Uitenage) and Despatch. Forming part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, Gqeberha has stunning beaches, historical museums and memorials, award-winning wildlife sanctuaries and super friendly people, making it a spectacular holiday destination.
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Vusi Thembekwayo – CEO of Motiv8, and Founder of The Inspiration Project, My Growth Fund and Iconoclast: At 25, Vusi Thembekwayo served on the operations board of Metcash Africa. He was tasked with launching a new division, which he built into a R461 million turnover business. He then left to launch his own business in 2013, Motiv8 his own consulting business, which he bootstrapped with speaking engagements. \”In my experience, the only way to succeed is to invest time in your own development and have \”skin in the game.\’ Time enables you to build technical ability and establishes your credibility in the market,\” says Thembekwayo. He went on to become one of the \”dragons\’ on the South African edition of Dragons\’ Den, where he was responsible for allocation over R10 million worth of investment, as well as one of the \”sharks\’ on M-Net\’s Shark Tank. In 2011, he co-founded Watermark Capital Partners, a private equity firm. In 2013, he was appointed non-executive director at RBA Holdings Ltd. In 2014, he founded The Inspiration Project, a tech enabled narrative lab reshaping the story of Africa, qualified to join the National Speakers Association of New York, and founded My Growth Fund, a fund to support business people as they start, build and grow their businesses. In 2015, he founded Iconoclast, a boutique specialist public speaker representation management agency.