Carl Hahn

Carl Horst Hahn ( born July 1, 1926 in Chemnitz ) is a German manager in the automotive industry, who was among others 1982-1993 CEO of Volkswagen. He is the son of Carl Hahn Sr., who had great success as a manager at DKW and Audi's predecessor company Auto Union in the 1930s and 1950s.

Training

Hahn studied Business Administration at the Universities of Cologne and Zurich and economics at the University of Bristol and the Sorbonne in Paris. He received a doctorate in economics at the University of Bern.

Career

In 1953, Carl Hahn assistant of Heinrich Nordhoff, the Director-General (CEO ) of the Volkswagenwerk GmbH. Immediately cock rose up in the export department head of the sales promotion.

In 1958, Hahn Head of Volkswagen of America, and he managed to build a solid market in the U.S. for the VW Beetle and the Transporter with remarkable and original advertising campaigns. There he married, born in San Francisco Marisa Traina Lea (1926-2013), sister of the ex- husband of novelist Danielle Steel. The four children of the couple were born in the United States. Hahn remained until 1965 in the United States.

In 1972 he became head of Continental AG in Hanover in 1982 and returned back as CEO to VW. During his tenure, the acquisitions of the Spanish Seat and the Czech Škoda Works and expansion into the People's Republic of China fell. VW could also, although to what had to withdraw mainly because East Asian competition with sharply falling sales, keep at a time on the North American market, other European mass producers such as Fiat and Renault. Furthermore, he sat down since the early 1980s for the automotive production in his home region of Chemnitz (formerly Karl- Marx-Stadt ) is a; This commitment culminated in 1990 in the founding of the Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH.

Early 1990s had indeed the sales of VW more than doubled, but due to high production and development costs important economic indicators of the VW group were unsatisfactory. Then took over Ferdinand Piëch in 1993 as CEO of Hahn, who joined the Supervisory Board of the Group.

Carl Horst Hahn lives in Wolfsburg and is currently a senior advisor for the German investment company General Capital Group.

Honors

Carl Hahn is since 1977 an honorary citizen of the city of Wolfsburg, since 1994 honorary citizen of his hometown Chemnitz, since 1998 honorary citizen of the city of Zwickau.

In 1989 he received the Grand Gold Medal with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria.

Since 2002 he is honorary professor at the West Saxon University of Zwickau. Carl Horst Hahn is the carrier of the Lower Saxony State medal. Since 1987, Hahn Honorary Senator of the TU Braunschweig and since August 17, 2009 namesake of Saxony International School - Carl Hahn - Capacity Building in Glauchau.