Stephan Winkelmann will be stepping down as the President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini on 15th March to head Audi’s Quattro division. Stephan has held the position at Lamborghini since 1 January 2005. Winkelmann has been the most successful CEO at Lamborghini introducing various models of the Gallardo, along with the Aventador and most recently, the Huracan.
Stephan gave a final speech to the employees at Sant’Agata Bolognese, the highlights of which are in the video embedded above. In his speech addressing the employees, Winkelmann stated – “it has been an honour for me to work side by side with you over these past eleven years”. And “Us too!” an employee immediately replied from the crowd.
He’ll be replaced by Former Team Principal of Ferrari F1 team Stefano Domenicali.
“Over the past eleven years, Stephan Winkelmann has transformed Lamborghini into a global leader in the manufacture of super sports cars. His successor, who also possesses a wealth of experience in this area, will be continuing this success,” said Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board Management of Audi and Chairman of the Administrative Board of Automobili Lamborghini.
“I am very excited to be taking on the challenges of this great legacy. It is now my duty to continue the successes that my predecessor Stephan Winkelmann achieved for Automobili Lamborghini,” said Stefano Domenicali.
Stephan Winkelmann – “I have been responsible for Lamborghini for a significant period of time in its history, and in the process have always aimed to use the brand’s potential to achieve very ambitious goals. Lamborghini’s key corporate data displays continual, profitable growth with a focus on the development of new products, new processes, and many other corporate sectors. Together with my colleagues from the Board of Directors, I was able to facilitate successful initial release of our third model series being launched in 2018. These successes would not have been possible without the passion, skill, creativity, and courage that are ingrained in the Lamborghini DNA and in our employees. I would like to thank everyone for this time from the bottom of my heart.”
Winkelmann was born in Berlin on 18 October 1964 and grew up in Rome. He held a variety of senior positions in the Fiat Group heading up operations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland before being appointed President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini in 2005. Between 2004 and 2015 the sales figures at Lamborghini more than doubled, and the turnover more than tripled. The dealer network has also tripled in size and now encompasses 135 dealers in 50 countries. During this time the number of employees, today 1,300, practically doubled.
Models introduced under Winkelmann, starting with derivatives of the Gallardo and ranging through to the V10 Huracán and V12 Aventador as well as limited editions and one-offs, set numerous new sales records. In 2015, the third model line was announced, the luxury SUV “Urus”, to be built in Sant’Agata Bolognese starting from 2018, and marking the beginning of a new era for the company.
Stephan has been awarded the Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2009 and Knight Grand Cross in 2014. Undeniably, Stephan Winkelmann is one of the classiest, most admired auto execs in the world and Lamborghini will surely miss him.
Recommended for you
Leave a Reply
Note: Comments that are unrelated to the post above get automatically filtered into the trash bin.
