Germany - Ralf Brandstätter has been named COO of the Volkswagen brand. He will lead its operating business while also remaining the company's board member for procurement.

"Ralf Brandstätter has outstanding commercial and technical expertise. In the newly-created function of COO he will make a decisive contribution to taking the Volkswagen brand further forward. I would also like to thank Frank Welsch. In addition to his extensive duties as the Volkswagen brand’s Board member for Technical Development, he also assumed many additional functions in an interim capacity to safeguard the successful leadership of brand business in a pivotal phase," commented VW CEO Herbert Diess.

Brandstätter has previously held a variety of different roles within the VW Group, from shopfitter at the VW plant in Brunswick to head of purchasing at SEAT.

VW also recently announced that Markus Duesmann will be the latest member of the board of management. He currently works for BMW, as reported by Automotive Logistics.