As of
1 August, Harald J. Wester will take on the office of Chief
Executive Officer of Maserati, in replacement of Roberto
Ronchi who leaves the Group at his own request. Mr. Wester
will maintain his current positions as Chief Technical
Officer of Fiat Group and Fiat Group Automobiles.
The
Chief Executive of Fiat Group, Sergio Marchionne, said: "Harald
J. Wester, who has demonstrated great commitment and skill,
will bring strong leadership abilities together with immense
technical experience and knowledge to Maserati. I would like
to thank Roberto Ronchi, both personally and on behalf of
the company, for the great intelligence and team spirit with
which he contributed to the relaunch and development of the
Maserati brand, which is now achieving exceptional results,
both commercially and financially. I extend my best wishes
to Roberto Ronchi for his personal and professional future."
Harald
J. Wester was born in Linz am Rhein (Germany) on 26 February
1958 and obtained a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from
Braunschweig University in 1986.
Mr.
Wester started his professional career at Volkswagen AG in
Wolfsburg, where he was General Manager of the Vehicle
Research & New Concepts department from 1991 to 1995. Later
that year, he joined Audi AG in Ingolstadt where he became
Program Manager for the A2 models and Special Vehicles, a
position that he held until January 1999. Subsequently, he
joined Ferrari S.p.A. as Director of Product Development,
where he remained until January 2002. Mr. Wester was then
hired by Magna Steyr AG as Group President Engineering and
Chief Technical Officer (Research, Development and
Technologies). In 2004, he joined the Fiat Group where
he took on the role of Chief Technical Officer of Fiat Group
and Fiat Group Automobiles.
