After 5 years at the helm of Seat and Cupra, the brands' CEO Wayne Griffiths has stated that he wants to leave the position immediately.
After 5 years, Wayne Griffiths has said goodbye to the position as director of Seat and Cupra with immediate effect.
This was announced by the VW-owned Spanish brands in a press release .
Further information is scarce. But Wayne Griffiths, who has received millions in salary every year to lead Seat/Cupra, is already a thing of the past for the brands.
His last day of work was Monday, March 31st.
In the press release, Seat writes that Griffiths has "decided to leave the company at his own request on March 31st because he wants to pursue new challenges."
Seat boss has 'chosen to resign himself'
Manchester-born Griffiths became CEO of Seat and Cupra in October 2020, taking over the top job after leading the companies' sales and marketing teams since 2016. Before that, he held several senior positions at Audi.
Seat isn't the only car brand facing a major shake-up these days. On Monday, Volvo Cars decided to fire its CEO with immediate effect. Read more about it here .
Griffiths' choke exit is announced just a few weeks after he was busy telling various journalists that 'the role as top SEAT boss is and was his destiny'
When asked if he would continue in his position after 2030, when Cupra plans to launch itself in the US, Griffiths said he was more than ready to 'go all in'.
When he spoke to journalists at Seat and Cupra's annual media conference as recently as earlier in March, it was revealed that:
-I've always said that this company is my destiny, I'm all in, and that until the end of my career.
– How much of it I can decide, or how much of it is determined for me, you never know when you are at the top of a company.
– But for me personally, this is my dream job, I have no other plans, and as long as we are successful and we deliver, we will continue.
– And I would love to be involved when we launch the Cupra brand in the US.
– It depends on me whether Cupra/Seat is more successful in the next decade. And that is what I will focus on for the next while.
Seat has confirmed that Markus Haupt, current head of production and logistics in the Spanish part of the VW Group, will take over as interim leader, while the rest of the management and the board of directors look for a more permanent replacement.
There is currently no word on whether Griffiths has accepted another job or whether he will remain with the Volkswagen Group, for which he has worked since 1989.
