David Powels and Kai Vogler have been appointed SEAT S.A.’s new Executive Vice-President for Finance and IT and Executive Vice-President for Sales & Marketing respectively. Directly reporting to SEAT S.A. President Wayne Griffiths, Powels will take over his position as of September 1st and Vogler will join the company on October 1st.
“We would like to welcome David Powels and Kai Vogler, both talented professionals with extensive experience. Their backgrounds in the Volkswagen Group will make a positive contribution to key areas such as Finance and IT, and Sales and Marketing,” said Wayne Griffiths.
David Powels
New Executive Vice-President for Finance & IT David Powels assumes role on September 1st.
Powels has more than 30 years of international experience within the Group, in countries such as China, Brazil, Germany and South Africa, where he is originally from. Since the end of 2017, he has held the position of first Vice-President and Executive Vice-President for Commercial at SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co. in China, a joint venture between SAIC Motor and Volkswagen Group.
David Powels gained his degree in Commerce from the Nelson Mandela University of Port Elizabeth and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa. He also completed a Postgraduate Management Development Programme at the University of Cape Town. Powels started his career at Volkswagen South Africa in 1989. After working in Germany and Brazil, he was appointed CEO of Volkswagen Group South Africa in 2007. He was subsequently President and CEO of VW Brazil and VW Region South America. Powels speaks English, German and Portuguese.
Griffiths expressed his gratitude to Carsten Isensee, who is retiring after a career spanning 34 years within the Volkswagen Group, for his work as Powels’ predecessor: “Carsten has been of enormous value to the company. He led SEAT S.A. and established a liquidity security program through the most difficult months of the pandemic. I want to thank him for his commitment during the time we have worked together.”
Kai Vogler begins role of Executive Vice-President for Sales & Marketing on October 1st.
Vogler, who will replace Wayne Griffiths in his role as Vice-President for Sales and Marketing, is an expert in new business and distribution models and has a broad international background. He has been Regional Manager Europe for Volkswagen Financial Services AG since 2019, focusing on sales and marketing and with overall responsibility for all European countries, with the exception of Germany. Within the Volkswagen Group, he has held various positions within Volkswagen Financial Services AG, Volkswagen Moller Bilfinans AS and Porsche Financial Services, in Germany and Norway.
Kai Vogler gained a University Diploma in Business Informatics from the University of Essen, Germany. He speaks German and English.
