Ex-McLaren CEO Michael Leiters (54) will replace Oliver Blume as CEO of Porsche from 1 January 2026. Blume will remain at the helm of the Volkswagen Group. His contract there was extended until 2030.
Rumors that VW and Porsche CEO Oliver Blume would concentrate solely on Wolfsburg had circulated for some time, but things moved quickly on Friday. After reports surfaced that Blume’s withdrawal from Porsche was imminent and a successor had been found, Porsche confirmed that the Supervisory Board was negotiating with former McLaren boss Michael Leiters to become the next CEO of the sports car manufacturer.
Following the Supervisory Board meetings of Porsche and later Volkswagen, both companies approved the move, announcing it after market close in the evening: “The Supervisory Board of Porsche AG has appointed Dr. Michael Leiters as CEO of Porsche AG, effective as of January 1, 2026. Dr. Oliver Blume, who has led Porsche AG as CEO for ten years, will continue to serve as CEO of Volkswagen Group,” Porsche stated.
Shortly afterwards, Volkswagen confirmed that Blume’s dual role would end at the turn of the year. “The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft resolved on Friday to conclude a new agreement with Mr. Blume for a term of five years, starting on 1 January 2026. This means Mr. Blume will continue as Volkswagen AG’s CEO until the end of 2030,” VW communicated.
“In the last three years, Oliver Blume has impressively demonstrated his ability to advance and develop the Volkswagen Group’s strategy and business operations in a challenging environment. The Supervisory Board is confident that, with Mr. Blume on board, it will continue to successfully tackle the tasks ahead together with the Board of Management team,” said the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Hans Dieter Pötsch.
Former Porsche employee with lots of experience
The name Michael Leiters had already surfaced in the summer as a potential successor to Blume, though he was one of several candidates, as a number of top managers from within both Porsche and the VW Group had their eye on Blume’s position in Zuffenhausen.
According to various reports, some lacked the full confidence of all key stakeholders, either missing the technical expertise expected from a Porsche CEO or the executive leadership experience that distinguishes a board-level role from other top management positions.
Leiters meets many of these criteria. He knows Porsche well, having spent 13 years in Zuffenhausen (from 2000 tot 2013) and Weissach – including as assistant to then-CEO Wendelin Wiedeking, who still holds significant respect both within Porsche and among the Porsche family, and as head of the crucial Cayenne and Macan SUV product lines.
Leiters has a long track record of pushing hybrid models, starting with the successful Cayene during his earlier stint at Porsche. He now rejoins Porsche as it is cutting jobs and pivoting back toward hybrids and ICE cars after an expensive electrification strategy. Porsche is also grappling with tariff costs and slumping sales in China.
After leaving Porsche, Leiters spent eight years as CTO at Ferrari, gaining experience with both combustion and electric performance cars. In 2022, he became CEO of McLaren during the Covid crisis and a difficult financial period for the company.Leiters tried to improve quality at the British supercar company, but couldn’t”t fully tourn around the company’s financial performance. He backed plans for McLaren to also enter the SUV market.
Nevertheless, when he left McLaren in April 2025, the sports car maker was back in the black. Proof, Porsche hopes, that Leiters understands not only technology but also business. Conditions in Zuffenhausen, as is well known, are currently anything but easy.
Apart from reinvesting in hybrids and ICE cars, Porsche is also preparing to launch the new, electric Cayenne in the coming months, a key test for the model Leiters knows so well and also for the future of the company.
Leiters himself did not comment in the official statement, but Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG, spoke about him: “Dr. Michael Leiters has decades of experience in the automotive industry. His leadership style and in-depth expertise are ideal prerequisites for successfully chairing the Executive Board of Porsche AG. He and the entire Executive Board team at Porsche AG enjoy the confidence of the Supervisory Board in overcoming the current challenges.”
One potential change remains unconfirmed: while Blume, during his time as Porsche CEO, also sat on the VW Group Board of Management, Leiters will reportedly not join that body. That would mean that, unlike the VW and Audi brands, Porsche would no longer be represented on the Group Board. However, this has not yet been officially confirmed.
Oliver Blume: successful but also too risk-seeking?
Porsche issued a more detailed statement, as the sports carmaker faces a significant transition after ten years under Oliver Blume. The former Head of Production at Porsche took over as CEO in 2015, after Matthias Müller moved to Wolfsburg as Martin Winterkorn’s successor in the wake of Dieselgate.
“As CEO of Porsche AG, Dr. Oliver Blume has taken great responsibility in challenging times and successfully managed the company,” said Wolfgang Porsche. “We look forward to continuing to work closely and trustingly with him as CEO of Volkswagen Group.”
Porsche highlighted Blume as a driving force behind the company’s “record financial years, the IPO of Porsche AG, and the expansion into further international markets, as well as historic motorsport successes.” He also prepared the generational change within the Executive Board.
What the statement did not mention: Blume also advanced Porsche’s electrification strategy and critics were fast to say he bet too heavily on an electric future. Demand for EVs has not developed as he anticipated in his product plans.
EVs have been delayed, while combustion models have been phased out without immediate replacements. In more than one project, Porsche under Blume also relied on risky single-sourcing for key components such as batteries. All this is now proving costly for the company.
Although he already strongly influenced the course of the VW Group, Blume’s new role still needs to take really shape in the future. All three of his predecessors as Group CEO gave up responsibility for their brands and all lost their Group CEO roles within a few years. Neither Winterkorn, Müller nor Herbert Diess completed their terms, each left office prematurely for different reasons.
