Until now, Herrmann has held the position of Vice President for Quality at Ford Germany. He began his career in 1979 as an apprentice at Ford, and went on to study “Fahrzeugbau” (automotive engineering/manufacturing) in Hamburg.

Mattes is the longest-serving automobile CEO in Germany. He took over as CEO in September of 2002 after his predecessor, Rolf Zimmermann left before his contract ended. Mattes started out in difficult times. Ford Germany ran a deficit of 80 million Euros in 2001, which rose to 340 million in 2002 and more than a billion in 2003. Despite that, Mattes formulated a goal of “profitable growth”.

Unlike other managers in a similar position Mattes didn’t blame his predecessor for the shortcomings. Without fanfare he reorganized the dealership structure and, in cooperation with employees’ representatives made deals to lower costs, but still giving guarantees for the survival of production locations. Two years ago, a deal was made to build the new generation of Ford Fiestas in Cologne starting in 2017.

For Mattes, it was always important to make the Ford brand more “emotional”. Cars were designed to have a more dynamic look, which would also make them more recognizable. After years of ups and downs, Ford Europe is now profitable - Ford does not publish numbers for its German operations. The market share in Germany rose to 7.2 percent, which leaves room for the new CEO Gunnar Hermann.

Mattes will now have more time for hobbies and his family. He is married with two adult children. Not only is he an avid fan of Cologne’s football team 1. FC Köln, but recently he has also discovered golf as a new challenge. (Orig. text: Ralf Arenz)