Charisma-free Chairman for Volkswagen

Ferdinand Porsche, Heinz Nordhoff, Kurt Lotz, Rudolf Leiding, Carl Hahn and Ferdinand Piech -- these are some of the towering motor-industry figures that made the VW Group the powerhouse that it is today. Will Matthias Mueller be able to earn the same reverence? He will if he can rescue VW from one of the most severe crises it has ever faced.

Knowingly or not, VW's board has chosen a charisma-free CEO. They may well have despaired of the autocratic styles of Piech and Winterkorn, the latter lon-serving as Piech's avatar. One of Mueller's credentials is said to be his stewardship of the VW range in the 2000s. In fact, like all other managers at Wolfsburg in those years all he had to do was codify and deliver the plans and initiatives of Piech.

Mueller's management of Porsche has been low-key. To see what I mean, surf for his recent Frankfurt launch of an improved 911 and new concept car. He delivered his text with all the style and enthusiasm of the PR guy who wrote it, shoved out to deliver it when the boss caught a virus.

At this crucial juncture VW needs a chief with charisma, a person who can rally the troops to fix the faults and show that VW can go beyond this crisis to a confident future. The person has to be able to deal with government heads and the press with confidence and commitment. Nothing in the career and profile of Matthias Mueller suggests that he is the person to do this.

I hope I'm wrong because not only VW's workers and customers but also the entire global motor industry looks now to Wolfsburg to find its way out of the dead-end street down which Volkswagen has driven it.