David Powels started his tenure as CFO of Volkswagen passenger cars on 1 October 2024.
David Powels started his tenure as CFO of Volkswagen passenger cars on 1 October 2024. David has been the first vice president and executive vice president for commercial at SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co. in China since late 2017, and has been a board member for finance and IT at SEAT SA since 2021.
David has more than 30 years of international experience with the Volkswagen Group. He started his career at Volkswagen South Africa in 1989 and was appointed CEO in 2007, following stints in Germany and Brazil.
In 2015, he was named president and CEO of Volkswagen Brazil, and the following year, he took over responsibility for South America, Central America and the Caribbean regions.
In a company statement, Wayne Griffiths, CEO of SEAT and CUPRA, said: “David’s contribution has been crucial to the transformation of our company and has helped us achieve our best financial results to date. His role in returning SEAT SA to profitability has been key to the growth of our company. I thank him for the support he has given me and SEAT SA.”
“I am convinced that he will continue to do a great job as he joins the board of the Volkswagen brand, and we count on his support in the implementation of the SEAT and CUPRA strategy,” Wayne added.
David is a CA(SA). He holds a degree in business science from the Nelson Mandela University of Port Elizabeth and a postgraduate degree in management development from the University of Cape Town.
