Porsche procurement chief Uwe-Karsten Staedter will retire next August, after 47 years with the VW Group, replaced by Barbara Frenkel who starts on 1 June. She previously headed Porsche sales in Europe.

Staedter joined Volkswagen in 1974 and has held various management positions in the group. He was head of chemical products purchasing at Seat in Spain, later bought exterior and electrics/electronics parts for VW and was acting VW head of procurement before being named Porsche board member responsible for procurement in 2011. During his tenure, the sportscar and luxury SUV maker's purchasing volume increased from EUR2bn to EUR9bn and his staff doubled to 580 people.

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Frenkel started in purchasing for Valeo and TRW Automotive and has since held various management positions at Porsche for 19 years. As Europe sales chief, she increased retail volume in the third-largest sales region by around 10% over recent years and helped further expand the dealer network.

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