They need to be smart, passionate, respectful, and determined: “Many are enthusiastic about the idea of building a battery factory from scratch; they want to be part of Northvolt Zwei, because they know the Volkswagen brand and believe in their e-strategy.” The next important milestone for the “Northvolt Zwei” team is the approval phase for the construction project, which began in April. The goal: Before the end of the year, the excavators will arrive in the north of the Salzgitter site for the factory, where up to 1,300 employees will manufacture battery cells. M EB p la tf or m s in m ill io ns GROUP 5 k 360° July 2020 Bernd Osterloh Gunnar Kilian Herbert Diess Names & News Matthias Rabe will become Head of Technical Development at Bentley effective as of August 1. He succeeds Werner Tietz, who will switch to the position of Head of Technical Development for Seat. Werner Tietz follows on from Axel Andorff, who will take over leadership of the Midsize and MEB product lines at Skoda. He, in turn, succeeds Matthias Glodny, who will become Head of the Construction Kits, Drives, and Modules series at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand. Matthias Rabe joined the Volkswagen Group in 1988 after completing his studies in mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University and has held various management roles. He most recently worked as Chief Technology Officer for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand in Wolfsburg. Werner Tietz holds a PhD in mechanical engineering and has been working for the Volkswagen Group for 26 years. He moved to Cockpit Development in 1997; after various leadership roles in this division, he took over the management of Equipment Development in 2006. In 2011, Tietz headed to Stuttgart to become Head of Prototyping for Porsche AG. In 2018, he moved to Bentley Motors in Crewe, England, taking over the Engineering department as a Member of the Executive Board.