- Robin Aschhoff to take charge of the General Secretariat at Volkswagen Group China and in this function assumes responsibility for international and CEO communications
- Jens Katemann appointed Head of Communications at Volkswagen Passenger Cars and the ‘Volume’ Brand Group
- Ariane Kilian succeeds Jens Katemann as Head of Communications at ŠKODA AUTO
- There will be a new appointment as Head of Communications at the Group Technology division in light of the realignment of the Group’s Battery & Charging platform
In view of the most recent changes in the Volkswagen Group Board of Management and the ‘Volume’ Brand Group, Volkswagen Group China and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars, ŠKODA AUTO a.s. and Volkswagen Group Components brands are adjusting their communications leadership structure.
Robin Aschhoff will take charge of the General Secretariat at Volkswagen Group China effective August 1, 2022. In this function, he also assumes responsibility for international communications and CEO communications in China. Robin Aschhoff reports direct to Ralf Brandstätter, who will head the Group Board of Management’s China division from August 1.
Jens Katemann, currently Head of Communications at ŠKODA AUTO, succeeds Robin Aschhoff as Head of Communications at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand effective July 1, 2022. In this function he is also responsible for communications at the ‘Volume’ Brand Group. Katemann reports to Thomas Schäfer, who becomes CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars and the Group Board Member responsible for the ‘Volume’ Brand Group from July 1, 2022.
Ariane Kilian, currently Head of Communications at the Group’s Technology division and at Volkswagen Group Components, assumes responsibility for communications at ŠKODA AUTO effective July 1, 2022. She reports to Klaus Zellmer, who takes over as the new Chairman of the Board of ŠKODA AUTO from July 1, 2022.
There will be a new appointment as Head of Communications at the Group Technology division in light of the realignment of the Group’s Battery & Charging platform. This Group division includes the VW Group Components brand, VW Group Battery and VW Group Charging.
Robin Aschhoff studied business journalism at the University of Europe and held various editorial posts, e.g., with Funke Mediengruppe. He began his career at Volkswagen in Business and Corporate Communications in 2009. He then held various senior management roles in communications at Volkswagen’s Czech subsidiary ŠKODA AUTO from 2010. In 2017, he assumed overall responsibility for coordinating communications at the Volkswagen brand in his role as Head of Communications Operations. He has been Head of Communications at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand since July 1, 2020.
Jens Katemann completed a business journalism traineeship at Georg von Holtzbrinck-Schule für Wirtschaftsjournalisten school for journalists, and subsequently spent some 15 years reporting on the international automotive industry, latterly as Editor in Chief of the German magazine ‘auto, motor und sport’. He was appointed Head of Communications at ŠKODA AUTO in 2017, holding responsibility for the brand’s worldwide communications. For the Group, he was responsible for communications in various growth regions such as India and North Africa.
Ariane Kilian studied journalism at Kölner Journalistenschule für Politik und Wirtschaft and subsequently completed an internship at Burda Media. She has held a variety of positions, e.g., as an editor with Frankfurter Rundschau and as a press officer at the German Bundestag, the national parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany. She joined Volkswagen in 2007, holding various leadership roles in communications and external relations. She has been responsible for communications at Volkswagen Group Components since 2015 and has also been in charge of communications at the Group’s new Technology division, with additional responsibility for Battery and Charging & Energy, since 2021.
