Volvo Cars is promoting a new technology specialist and an engineer to its senior management team to spearhead the automaker’s “next phase.”
Alexander Petrofski, currently head of strategy and business ownership, and Magnus Nilsson, head of Volvo Cars’ Ghent production plant in Belgium, will join its executive management team starting Sept. 1, the company’s Aug. 19 statement announced.
Petrofski will be Volvo’s new CTO, succeeding Anders Bell. And Nilsson will join the team as Volvo’s new chief manufacturing officer, responsible for production and manufacturing engineering.
These changes are designed to strengthen Volvo’s organization “for an increasingly regionalized world, a fast-transforming automotive industry and new customer expectations in a highly competitive market,” the company’s statement said.
Petrofski will join the management team as chief technology officer, succeeding Anders Bell.
Since joining Volvo in 2005, Petrofski worked at its Gothenburg headquarters until moving to be production line director at Volvo’s Shanghai operations in 2011.
In 2015 he was promoted to senior program manager for the XC40 SUV.
Meanwhile, Bell will take on a new responsibility, leading a key strategic startup initiative within Volvo, defining opportunities to scale its developed platform and digital technology.
Volvo also announced that Francesca Gamboni will take on a more focused role as chief procurement and supply chain officer.
“These changes strengthen our leadership team, reflecting the future priorities and swift execution needed for Volvo Cars’ next phase,” said Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars.
