The supervisory board of Opel/Vauxhall has appointed Frédéric Brunet and Xavier Duchemin as new Managing Directors as of August 1, 2018. Brunet will become Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company, succeeding Philippe de Rovira who has been appointed Member of the Executive Committee and CFO of Groupe PSA as of August 1, 2018. Duchemin will become the new Managing Director Sales, Aftersales and Marketing of Opel/Vauxhall. He succeeds Peter Küspert, who leaves the company at his own request, after nearly five years in office. Frédéric Brunet and Xavier Duchemin will report to Opel/Vauxhall CEO Michael Lohscheller.
“I am delighted that Frédéric Brunet and Xavier Duchemin will join our management team,” said Michael Lohscheller. “Both are strong and recognised leaders with extensive experience in the automotive industry. They will play a fundamental role in executing our strategic plan PACE!.”
A graduate of Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Mr Brunet began his career in 2000 as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He joined PSA Peugeot Citroën in 2004 and has served in a variety of functions. He has been the Group Controller for the company overseeing all global controlling activities since 2017.
Between 2014 and 2017, he led the Investor Relations division of Groupe PSA. Before that time, he was with the Strategy Department, where he oversaw strategic project scheduling and financial impacts. Between 2012 and 2014, Frédéric Brunet gained international experience as the CFO for the Latin America region of Groupe PSA.
Xavier Duchemin has been Executive Director Sales Opel/Vauxhall Europe since March of this year. The graduate of HEC Business School in Paris has held various senior sales and marketing positions at Groupe PSA since 1991. Since January 2017, Xavier Duchemin has been Managing Director of PSA Retail, previously Managing Director of Peugeot France, Chief Marketing Officer of Citroën worldwide and CEO of Citroën in the UK and Austria.
Lohscheller expressed his gratitude to Philippe de Rovira and Peter Küspert: “I want to thank Philippe de Rovira and Peter Küspert for all their achievements and great contribution. Under Peter Küspert’s responsibility, Opel/Vauxhall also focused sales and distribution on performance and profitability. We wish him all the best for his future. Philippe de Rovira has been a driving force in the successful execution of PACE! and I very much look forward to continuing to work with him very closely in his new position.”
