“They’re not a bunch of technicians,” Wolfgang Porsche said as younger family members checked out VW's latest offerings at the Geneva International Motor Show in March. “But they don't have to be technicians. What's important is understanding and a clear head.”
One non-technician seeking a bigger role at VW is Peter Daniell Porsche. His father, Hans Peter Porsche, 76, has said he'll hand his board seat in the family holding company to Peter Daniell by 2020. When he inherits his father's shares, Peter Daniell -- an only child -- will have the largest individual stake among the family's fourth generation. A former teacher at an alternative Waldorf school who in 2012 published a book titled "There's More to Life Than Building Cars," Peter Daniell, 42, is stepping up his engagement in the company. In the past two years, he has joined the board of VW’s Czech Skoda brand, started serving as vice chairman of a foundation run by VW's unions, and has been advising Porsche Design, a subsidiary that sells branded luggage and fashion accessories.
"I stand behind the company, absolutely," Peter Daniell said in the renovated 16th-century mill in Salzburg where he manages his investment interests. "But I'm going about it in my own way."
With the family AWOL, the void has been filled by VW's powerful unions
The family lost its strongest voice at VW a year ago, when Wolfgang Porsche’s cousin Ferdinand Piech quit the board after more than two decades as Volkswagen's guiding force. He started as an engineer at Porsche then transferred to Audi, VW's luxury nameplate. In 1993 Piech took over as VW's chief executive officer, bringing the company back from near bankruptcy. In 2002 he became chairman of the supervisory board and helped make VW the world’s biggest car maker.
Last April, the 79-year-old Piech was forced out after battling with then-CEO Martin Winterkorn (who resigned five months later because of the emissions scandal). Piech had sought to forge a dynasty at the company by naming his wife, Ursula -- a former nanny for his family and 19 years his junior -- to the board in 2012. Fund managers at the time criticized her appointment, saying she was unqualified.
Ferdinand could hardly be more different from his cousin. Where Wolfgang is soft-spoken, a bit portly, and comes off as an avuncular country gentleman, Piech is all sharp angles, hard edges, and vicious in a fight. In his autobiography, Piech talks at length about ousting executives on his way to the top and insists harmony in the executive suite is overrated.
The cousins had a falling out when Porsche sided with Winterkorn during the dispute -- which Piech took as a personal affront, according to people close to the family. After a standoff with other directors at a small airport near Wolfsburg last April, Piech and his wife quit the board. Piech is frustrated by his family's handling of the diesel crisis and remains estranged from most members on both sides of the clan, people who know them say. He declined to comment.
With Piech sidelined, Porsche stands alone at the head of the family, but he has done little in the role. The family now has four seats on the 20-person supervisory board, two of them from the fourth generation: Ferdinand Oliver Porsche, a 55-year-old Salzburg lawyer who has been a director since 2009; and Ferdinand Piech's niece Louise Kiesling, 58, who joined the board last year.
The current generation "has stayed on the horse so long that the younger generation cannot really get up to speed," said Marc-Michael Bergfeld, a professor specializing in family firms at Munich Business School. "Succession should have been prepared 5 to 10 years ago."