After eleven years at the top: Amag CEO Morten Hannesbo is leaving

An explosion at Amag headquarters in Cham ZG: CEO Morten Hannesbo (58) will hand over the management of the largest Swiss car importer with the brands Audi, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen at the end of February 2021. He is succeeded by the former CFO from Amag, Helmut Ruhl (51).

Are you frustrated by the current drop in sales in the corona pandemic? Or about imminent penalties for exceeding CO₂Limit values? No, planning and concept. Three years ago, the Amag Board of Directors around the president and owner of the Amag Group, Martin Haefner (67), set itself the goal of rejuvenating its management. Hannesbo himself planned to leave the office in the middle of next year. Although you are definitely too young to retire, your retirement seems to be planned for the long term.

Born in Denmark, the once quiet Amag put a lot of pressure on the throttle: in 2007, the trained transport employee took over Amag’s import management after having worked for Toyota, Nissan and Ford; just two years later he became CEO of the group. It turned Amag, who turned 75 this year, upside down: new logo, new style, new culture. Far from the dusty image of the authorities to an agile company. Martin Haefner is full of praise: “Morten Hannesbo shaped Amag. During this time it has been transformed from a traditional family business to a modern group of companies. “

Hannesbo reorganized and reformed, rethinking the automobile business. It launched direct car sales online or, with the digital startup Amag Innovation & Venture Lab, completely relied on the development of new business models, not expecting immediate profit. Still not sure what the new auto business would look like in ten years, he told BLICK in January: “But I’m already preparing to make it different.” The move to Amag’s new headquarters in Cham a year ago was a visible sign of change.

The strategy paid off: Amag brands’ share of car sales increased under Hannesbo from around 24 percent in 2010 to nearly 30 percent in 2019, and sales from four billion in 2010 to 4.7 billion. francs last year. The number of Amag employees nearly doubled with Hannesbo. Brake pads? The exchange rate crisis of January 2015. Certainly the corona pandemic, which should cost Amag around 20,000 sales this year. But especially the VW diesel scandal in 2015 about illegal engine software for handling exhaust gases, the effects of which Hannesbo can still feel today in a loss of confidence in the Volkswagen brand.

The successor Helmut Ruhl, former Daimler manager and with Amag since 2017, will follow the great strides from March 2021 and will immediately have to prove himself as a crisis manager. Morten Hannesbo, on the other hand, will have more time for his wife, three older children, and grandchildren in the future. And for his three great passions: football, skiing and cycling.