VW's CEO Calls for Faster Decisions, More Cooperation among Managers

Volkswagen AG management team must work more closely together and make decisions faster, says Herbert Diess, who took over as CEO two months ago.

Diess tells 400 of the group’s top managers that he also expects them to behave ethically, and he gave them 10 principles with which to check their performance. “We act honestly, openly and earnestly, not behind someone’s back,” he declares.

Referencing the company’s diesel emission cheating scandal, Diess says the company’s ethical standards “shifted or disappeared” in some areas. “Some,” he adds, “apparently viewed themselves as unassailable.”

The diesel crisis has cost the company nearly €30 billion ($35 billion) to date. Diess has championed a more transparent and streamlined corporate culture for VW since arriving at the carmaker from BMW four years ago to head the VW brand.