VW Hires ex-GM Exec as Group Strategist

Volkswagen AG has hired Thomas Sedran, a former executive at Adam Opel AG, to be its new head of group strategy, effective Nov. 1.

Sedran, a restructuring expert who helped orchestrate Opel’s turnaround, will help the company deal with the scandal over its sale of 11 million diesel-powered cars rigged to cheat emission standards. The crisis has drawn harsh criticism of VW’s hierarchical and rigid corporate structure.

Sedran’s selection is VW’s second in two weeks of an outsider to a top executive position. In mid-October the company hired Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, previously head of compliance and ethics at Daimler, to head its integrity and legal affairs operations.

Both executives will report to Matthias Mueller, who succeeded Martin Winterkorn as VW’s CEO last month.