Misplaced Pages

Rupert Stadler
Stadler in 2018
Born	(1963-03-17) 17 March 1963 (age 61) Titting, Bavaria, West Germany
Occupation	Businessman

Rupert Stadler (born 17 March 1963) is a German businessman and former chairman of the Vorstand (CEO) of Audi AG. He was arrested in June 2018 in connection with the Volkswagen emissions scandal. He was in custody in Germany until being released at the end of October 2018. In July 2019, Stadler was charged with fraud by prosecutors in Munich.

Early life

Stadler was born in Wachenzell in the Eichstätt district of Bavaria, Germany. He studied business management at Augsburg University of Applied Sciences, majoring in corporate planning/controllership and finance, banking and investment.

Career

After graduating, he started his career at Philips Kommunikation Industrie AG in Nuremberg.

Stadler joined Audi AG in 1990, assuming roles in sales and marketing. He became Commercial Director of Volkswagen/Audi España SA in 1994. From 1997 on, Stadler ran the office of the board of management of the Volkswagen Group. In January 2002, Stadler also became Head of Group Product Planning. He served as acting chairman of the board of Audi AG and its head of finance and organization until July 2007. He also served as the chairman of Automobili Lamborghini Holding SpA and Volkswagen Group Italia SpA. Stadler served as vice-chairman of the supervisory board at German football club FC Bayern AG until December 2018, when he was replaced by Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess.

Stadler has been the chairman of the board and chief executive officer (CEO) of Audi AG since 1 January 2010, and served as its chief financial officer (CFO) since 12 January 2007.

Stadler has been a member of the supervisory board at MAN SE (alternate name Man AG) since 10 May 2007 and served as a Member of the supervisory board of Volkswagen Bank GmbH, and Volkswagen Financial Services AG. He has served as a member of the economic advisory council of Bayerische Landesbank since 1 December 2005.

Dieselgate and arrest

Ever since Volkswagen admitted to use cheating software in November 2015, Stadler was under fire. In June 2018, Munich prosecutors named Stadler as a suspect in the widening Dieselgate scandal. A week later, Stadler was arrested and held in a prison in Augsburg. Prosecutors claimed he was tampering with evidence because of a phone call in which he suggested putting a witness on leave. Volkswagen initially suspended Stadler as CEO after the arrest, and on 2 October 2018, the company terminated all contracts with Stadler. Four weeks later, Stadler was released from custody against bail and under other conditions. Prosecutors continued naming him as a suspect.

Trial

On 30 September 2020, Stadler begun to stand trial in a Munich court on charges of fraud, and knowingly selling cars that did not comply with environmental standards. After years of insisting at the trial that he did nothing wrong, Stadler accepted a plea deal offered by the judge on 3 May 2023 and pleaded guilty on 16 May 2023, becoming the highest-ranking executive to confess wrongdoing to date. He received a suspended sentence and a €1.1 million ($1.21 million) fine.

Personal life

Stadler lives in Ingolstadt.

References

1. "Profile – Audi CEO Rupert Stadler". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
2. ^ Bloomberg. "volkswagen". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013.
3. "Jailed Audi CEO Rupert Stadler fired as Volkswagen grapples with scandal fallout". usatoday.com. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
4. "Munich court says former Audi CEO released from custody". Reuters. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
5. Poltz, Jörn; Schuetze, Arno (31 July 2019). "German prosecutors charge ex-Audi boss Stadler over emissions cheating". Reuters. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
6. "Prof. Rupert Stadler". ITU. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
7. "PW-Chef Herbert Diess wird Aufsichtsrat beim FC Bayern". Handelsblatt. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
8. "Audi CEO named as suspect in German emissions probe". Reuters. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
9. "Audi's detained CEO questioned by prosecutors over emissions scandal: source". Reuters. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
10. "Audi's Stadler Likely Turned Blind Eye to Rigging, Court Says". Bloomberg. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
11. "Volkswagen terminates Audi CEO's contract amid emissions probe". Reuters. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
12. (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Arrested Audi chief forced to leave Volkswagen Group | DW | 02.10.2018". DW.COM. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
13. "Ex-Audi-Chef Stadler wird aus U-Haft entlassen". Sueddeutsche Zeitung. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
14. "Ex-Audi chief arrives in German court to face dieselgate charges". Reuters. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
15. Ewing, Jack; Eddy, Melissa (3 May 2023). "Former Audi Chief to Plead Guilty in Emissions Scandal". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
16. "Ex-Audi chief Rupert Stadler admits role in diesel scandal". Deutsche Welle. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
17. Topham, Gwyn (18 June 2018). "Audi chief arrested in Germany over diesel scandal". the Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2018.

v t e Audi
Subsidiaries	Audi Brasil Distribuidora de Veículos Audi do Brasil e Cia Audi Hungaria Autogerma S.p.A. Here (33%) Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A. Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. e-tron Audi Sport GmbH Horch Bentley Motors Limited Italdesign-Giugiaro S.p.A.
Defunct brands	Auto Union DKW Horch (original) NSU Wanderer
Museums	August Horch Museum Zwickau museum mobile
Current models	Cars A1 A3 A5 A6 A6 e-tron A7 A8 e-tron GT SUVs/Crossovers Q2 Q3 Q4 e-tron Q5 Q5 e-tron Q6 Q6 e-tron Q7 Q8 Q8 e-tron
Audi Sport	Audi S: S3 Sportback/Sedan S5 Sedan/Avant S6 Sedan/Avant S6 e-tron Sedan/Avant S7 Sportback S8 SQ2 SQ5 SQ7 SQ8 e-tron S Audi RS: RS3 Sportback/Sedan RS6 Avant RS7 Sportback RS Q3 RS Q8 RS e-tron GT
Historic and discontinued models	Front 920 F103 50 80/90/4000/5+5 Quattro (Ur-Quattro) Coupé 4000CS quattro 100/200/5000 100 Coupé S S2 S4 Sedan/Avant RS2 Avant RS4 Avant RS5 Coupe/Sportback V8 A2 A4 Cabriolet S1 TT Coupe/Roadster R8 Coupe/Spider
Motorsport	Cars Rally cars: Quattro A1 & A2 Sport Quattro S1 Sport Quattro S1 E2 Sport Quattro RS 002 RS Q e-tron LMP road race cars: R8R R8C R8 R10 TDI R15 TDI R18 LMS/GT road race cars: R8 LMS (R16) DTM race cars: Abt-Audi TT-R DTM A4 DTM A5/RS5 DTM RS5 Turbo DTM Formula cars (engine suppliers): FPA FIA F2 Sport ABT (Formula E) Rallycross cars: S1 EKS RX quattro Series Audi R8 LMS Cup Audi Sport TT Cup
Concept cars	80 100 LS Cabriolet Asso Di Piche Auto 2000 Quartz B12 80 Avus quattro Quattro Spider ASF AI2 Rosemeyer Steppenwolf Avantissimo Nuvolari quattro Le Mans quattro quattro Concept RSQ Pikes Peak quattro Roadjet Shooting Brake R8 Le Mans Concept e-tron (2009) e-tron (2010) A1 e-tron e-tron Spyder A2 (2011) TT Offroad Prologue Prologue Allroad Q8 (2017) e-tron Sportback Pop.Up Next PB18 e-tron e-tron Vision Gran Turismo e-tron GT (2018) Q4 e-tron AI:ME AI:TRAIL Audi RSQ e-tron A6 e-tron concept
See also	August Horch (founder) Audi Channel Audi Cup Audi Driving Experience Audi in Formula One Audi S and RS models Audi Sport Factory Race Cars Audi vehicles hybrid MLP MMI multitronic North American Volkswagen engines procon-ten quattro (four-wheel-drive system) S tronic Volkswagen Group diesel engines discontinued Volkswagen Group petrol engines discontinued Volkswagen Group factories Volkswagen Group platforms Vorsprung durch Technik World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson
Category Commons

• Companies

• 1963 births
• Living people
• Chief executives in the automobile industry
• Audi people
• FC Bayern Munich board members
• Chief financial officers