Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. on Friday appointed Chris Glover as new president and CEO at Volkswagen Chattanooga LLC, the company’s assembly plant in Tennessee.
Mr. Glover will assume the role on Jan. 1 and will lead the plant’s transformation and push towards electric mobility, starting with the localized production of the fully-electric Volkswagen ID.4 SUV in 2022.
He follows Tom du Plessis, who will retire at the end of the year after a 13-year career with Volkswagen.
Mr. Glover said, “I am delighted to be joining the team in Chattanooga. With Chattanooga now focusing on the next generation of automobile assembly with electric vehicles, it is a privilege to work with a world-class team, and to help in shaping and securing this great future for Volkswagen and our factory in the state of Tennessee.”
Mr. Glover was previously executive vice president and member of the Board of Management at Volkswagen de México, responsible for Production and Logistics. He has served a career of more than 30 years at Volkswagen with leadership positions in several countries. Prior to Volkswagen de México, Glover served as Executive Director, Production Planning, at SAIC Volkswagen in China, and as Head of Division for Production Planning at Volkswagen of South Africa.
“As a passionate and decisive leader, Tom du Plessis has done a fantastic job in navigating our Chattanooga operations through the past 20 months of uncertainty,” said Scott Keogh, president and Chief Executive Officer of Volkswagen Group of America. “Perhaps more importantly, it was Tom’s commitment to helping us realize our electrified vision here in America that will be his legacy. Volkswagen is ready to lead the charge, and our expansion in Tennessee is critical to a long-term strategy of EV leadership. As we ramp up for localized assembly of the ID.4, Chris’s extensive background in production planning will move that strategy - and this industry - forward.”
Mr. Glover holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Cape Town, and a Business Management Diploma from Damelin College at Cape Town, South Africa.