Porsche's Piech Stays on VW Board

Ferdinand Piech, former Volkswagen chief and a member of the Porsche family, is to remain head of the VW's supervisory board, despite concerns of a possible clash of interests as part of Porsche's plans to take a stake in VW, it emerged late Monday. Following a meeting of VW's supervisory board, Europe's biggest carmaker issued a short statement saying simply that it "welcomed" plans by luxury sports car maker Porsche to buy a stake in VW. The carmaker said it wanted a basic framework agreement to be drawn up in writing "with the aim of achieving a fair balance of interests for the future operational cooperation with Porsche." No statement was issued regarding Piech, however, despite criticism of his double role as both VW supervisory board chief and a member of Porsche's supervisory board. Sources close to the talks said that there had been arguments about Piech at the meeting, but that no vote had taken place to decide whether he should stay on or not. Christian Wulff, the state premier of Lower Saxony and a fellow member of VW's supervisory board, had expressed criticism about Piech's double role, saying it could lead to "a collision of interests." Porsche announced last week that it had amassed a stake of 18.5 percent in VW, making it the biggest single shareholder in Europe's leading car maker. The state of Lower Saxony are the second-biggest shareholder.