Porsche in Talks With Ex-McLaren Boss Leiters for CEO Role
(Bloomberg) -- Porsche AG is in talks with Michael Leiters, the former head of McLaren Automotive Ltd., to take over as chief executive officer and turn around the struggling 911 maker.
The manufacturer has been preparing to find a successor for Oliver Blume, who runs both Porsche and Volkswagen AG. Blume will continue to lead Europe’s biggest carmaker, Porsche said Friday.
Porsche shares rose as much as 2.6% on the announcement before paring gains. The stock has halved since its listing in September 2022.
Porsche has long been under pressure to replace Blume, 57. His unconventional dual role has been a source of concern for investors as both companies grapple with US tariffs and declining sales in China, where local manufacturers led by BYD Co. are taking over.
Leiters, who left the British supercar maker in April, spent 13 years at Porsche until 2013, including in roles as project manager for the popular Cayenne SUV. He was then chief technical officer of Ferrari NV for eight years before moving on to McLaren.
The 54-year-old German native is rejoining Porsche at a time of upheaval, with the once-dependable profit center for parent Volkswagen having lowered its financial outlook four times this year. The company is the process of overhauling its product portfolio and negotiating further cost cuts with labor leaders after weak demand for electric models upended its previous strategy.
Volkswagen is pursuing its own restructuring with capacity reductions and thousands of job cuts.
For Porsche, replacing Blume will represent the end of an era. He’s led the luxury-car maker for the past decade and kept the job even after succeeding Herbert Diess as Volkswagen CEO in 2022.
After a blockbuster initial public offering three years ago, Porsche briefly became Europe’s most valuable carmaker. Profitability has slid since then, with the company forecasting an operating return on sales of no more than 2% this year. Porsche also ditched a plan to produce its own batteries due to weak EV demand.
The IPO handed more influence back to the billionaire Porsche-Piëch clan, who lost control of Porsche in 2009 following a takeover attempt of VW that went awry. The family emerged with a blocking minority and has held discussions with potential CEO candidates, Bloomberg reported in August.
(Updates with family involvement in talks in last paragraph. An earlier version of the story corrected the date of Blume becoming VW CEO)
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