Volvo Hires Atif Rafiq as Chief Digital Officer

Volvo Car Corp. has tapped Silicon Valley veteran Atif Rafiq to be the company’s first chief digital officer.

Rafiiq, who most recently was chief digital officer at McDonald’s Corp., will be part of Volvo’s executive management team and serve as senior vice president of information technology. He will oversee consumer-facing applications, digital touchpoints and enterprise systems, helping to evolve how consumers interact with Volvo cars across the buying, driving, entertainment and service experience.

Rafiq also will help Volvo develop and implement a cohesive strategy for electrified, connected and autonomous vehicles. The carmaker aims to have one million electrified cars on the road by 2025 and will launch its Drive Me pilot program for autonomous vehicles next year in Sweden. Volvo also is working with tech partners such as Uber and Autoliv on new initiatives.

Through the end of the year, Rafiq will team with Klas Bendrik, who has been Volvo’s senior vice president of group IT since 2010. Bendrik will then leave the carmaker for an unspecified position with another company, Volvo says.

At McDonald’s, Rafiq is credited with launching the fast food giant's digital operations, including remote ordering and payment plans. Before joining McDonald's in 2013, Rafiq held senior management positions at Amazon, AOL and Yahoo!, and he invested and served on the board of more than 10 start-up companies.