Bentley appoints new chief exec
Bentley Motors today (29 November) announced the appointment of Wolfgang Dürheimer (pictured) as its new Chairman and Chief Executive. He joins the Crewe-based luxury car firm, which is owned by the Volkswagen group, from Porsche where he was Executive Vice-President, Research and Development and will commence his new role on 1st February 2011.
He succeeds Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen who will retire after over eight years at the helm but has agreed to remain in an advisory capacity to Bentley and as a consultant to the Volkswagen Group.
Beginning his career in the motor industry with BMW in 1986, Dürheimer (52) has held positions as a product manager and also Head of Product Development in the motorcycle division. He later became a member of the senior management team responsible for research, development and project management.
In 1999, Dürheimer moved to Porsche, taking management responsibility for the iconic 911 product line.
Since 2001 he has been a Member of the Board responsible for Research, Development and Product Management. Under his management new models and product lines have been developed which have strengthened the Porsche brand.
