New Volkswagen Chattanooga Chief Executive Tom du Plessis has lots of experience when it comes to bringing models to the marketplace.
At his former post for VW in China, where the automaker is the top seller of cars in the world’s No. 1 market with a huge production presence, he oversaw 43 new vehicle launches, he says.
“The key to success was teamwork and preparation and that includes training and development,” says du Plessis, the 58-year-old veteran of the German carmaker who took the local plant’s steering wheel in July.
The CEO, who studied engineering at the University of Pretoria in his home country of South Africa, said the transition to his new role will have to be “seamless” at the Chattanooga plant that employs about 3,800 workers.
This year, the VW executive is overseeing two vehicle launches in Chattanooga – the five-seat Atlas SUV and the 2020 Passat sedan – and the start of work on an $800 million expansion to produce battery-powered vehicles.