!NEW! Matthias Seidl is New Opel Executive Director Sales Central & Eastern Europe

Jürgen Keller appointed new Opel Executive Director Sales, Marketing and Aftersales in Germany

Matthias Seidl - New Opel Executive Director Sales Central & Eastern Europe

Opel Board Member for Sales, Peter Christian Küspert, is re-organizing his team. Effective January 1, Matthias Seidl (50) is appointed Executive Director Sales, Central & Eastern Europe & International Operations. Jürgen Keller (47) takes over the position from Matthias Seidl as Executive Director Sales, Marketing and Aftersales.

“Matthias Seidl is a sales professional with many years of international experience. This year in Germany, he and his team have successfully stabilized our market share. Now we want to utilize his international expertise to drive Opel forward in Eastern and Central Europe, as well as in our international growth markets,” says Peter Küspert, Vice President Sales & Aftersales.

Seidl has been with Opel since December 2012. Prior to joining the company, he was

Vice President Global Sales & Aftersales at Saab Automobile in Trollhättan, Sweden. He also spent 20 years at Volkswagen, including spells as COO of Volkswagen America, Executive Director Sales American Region for VW and Audi, Managing Director of Audi Australia and Director Asia-Pacific, as well as Regional Manager Western Europe at Audi. Before beginning his professional career, Seidl trained as a banker and completed an MBA program at the University of Wales.

The position of Executive Director Sales Central & Eastern Europe & International Operations has been vacant since Andy Dunstan was promoted to manage the Russian operations of GM Europe on November 1.

Jürgen Keller has worked for Opel since 1993. A former competitive swimmer, he has led Opel Special Vehicles GmbH and was previously Sales Manager for Germany between 2010 and 2012 before taking up his current position as Director International Operations for Opel. The sales expert gets his new job in Peter Küspert’s team as something of a birthday present – on New Year’s Eve, Keller will celebrate both the New Year and his 48th birthday.

Jürgen Keller - New Opel Executive Director Sales, Marketing and Aftersales in Germany

“With Jürgen Keller’s appointment, a respected expert becomes Executive Director Sales, Marketing and Aftersales for the German market,” says Board Member Küspert. “This year, we have successfully stabilized our market share despite the very challenging economic environment in Europe. Consequently, we want to gain further market share in 2014. With his extensive experience and ability to act swiftly, Jürgen Keller will play a key role in achieving this goal on the important German market.”