Michael Horn (businessman)

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Michael Horn (c. 1961) [1] is a businessman who was the chief executive officer and president of Volkswagen Group of America.

Contents

Education

Horn is a business administration graduate. [2] He received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the European University in Antwerp, Belgium and his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of San Francisco. [3]

Career

Horn spent 23 years at Volkswagen prior to being named chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America. From 2009 through 2013 he served as the head of Volkswagen Global After Sales which covers parts and service at dealerships. [4] Initially, in 1990, he worked on group and brand strategy and, in 1997, he became responsible for North-Western European sales. In 2004, he became head of Sales for Europe. [2] On January 1, 2014, he became CEO and President of Volkswagen Group of America. He left Volkswagen on 9 March 2016. [5]

Volkswagen diesel emissions violations

In September 2015, Volkswagen AG's diesel vehicles failed a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigation for nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions above the permissible limits. The emissions violations include cars produced by Volkswagen's American division, where Horn is currently CEO. Horn has admitted his company "screwed up" by using the vehicle's software to reduce emissions when it detects an emission testing, but allowing the diesel engines to produce pollutants above the legal limit under normal operating conditions. [6]

On 8 October 2015, Volkswagen US CEO Michael Horn said in testimony before the U.S. Congress [7] [8] [9] that it could take years to repair all the cars, especially the older models, due to the complex hardware and software changes that will be required. He also said that the fixes will likely preserve fuel economy ratings but, "there might be a slight impact on performance". [10] [11] [12] An analyst viewed Horn's performance at the hearing as candid and complete. [13]


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References

  1. ↑ "Michael Horn out as CEO at Volkswagen Group of America". Automotive News. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2019. 54-years old
  2. 1 2 Staff (December 12, 2013). "Michael Horn To Head Volkswagen US; Replaces Jonathan Browning". The Chattanoogan. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
  3. ↑ "Corporate : Executive Bios : Volkswagen of America, Inc". Volkswagen. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
  4. ↑ Bernie Woodall (December 12, 2013). "Volkswagen's U.S. chief leaves company, Horn named replacement". Reuters. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
  5. ↑ "Volkswagen USA CEO Michael Horn is out in wake of diesel scandal" . Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Volkswagen's US boss: We totally screwed up". 21 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Volkswagen's Emissions Cheating Allegations: Initial Questions". house.gov. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "'It Was Installed For This Purpose,' VW's U.S. CEO Tells Congress About Defeat Device". NPR.org. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Hearing Volkswagen Emissions Violations - 3 hour video - C-SPAN.org". C-SPAN.org. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Volkswagen U.S. CEO: It may take years to fix cars", USA Today , retrieved 8 October 2015
  11. ↑ "VW's U.S. Chief Tells Congress of a Wait to Fix Diesel Cars". The New York Times . 8 October 2015.
  12. ↑ Written Testimony of Michael Horn, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce October 8, 2015
  13. ↑ "VW's Horn Shows Us All How to Testify before Congress". strategyanalytics.com. Retrieved 16 October 2015.


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