VW Creates Customer Experience Organization

FYI: Volkswagen Buyer's Guide

HERNDON, VA--Aug. 4, 2011: Volkswagen of America (VWoA) today announced senior management changes focused on improving customer experience performance across the company.  

Mark Barnes, 52, current head of sales for the company, is appointed to the position of Vice President, Volkswagen Customer Experience.  In this newly created role, Mark will determine and implement strategies and initiatives to support the customer experience in all business activities.  This includes the integration and alignment of each customer interaction at both the dealership and VWoA corporate levels.

"We know we need a systemic approach to better manage the entire customer experience within VW," said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America and VWoA.  "Now that we've put actions in place to address the customer voice in the product development process, and built a strong Quality organization, this is the next step in improving the foundation of our business."

The Volkswagen Academy, Customer Care, Customer Experience and the CRM/Loyalty functions will report to Barnes.

"Mark has done an outstanding job of building momentum in the sales organization, and throughout the dealer network," said Browning.  "His enthusiasm and passion for building loyalty among our customers is well known across the company.  Combine that with the depth of his relationship with dealers, and he is the perfect person to lead this new team."

Frank Trivieri, 48, will head all sales operations within the company.  Trivieri comes to VW from General Motors of Canada, Ltd where he was most recently General Director, Sales. 

In this role, Trivieri will have responsibility for leading and developing the dealer network and continuing the strong sales momentum currently seen at the company.  This role directs the activities of the U.S. regions, sales planning and strategy, network operations, retail programs and fleet and remarketing.

"I am looking forward to Frank joining the Volkswagen team," said Browning.  "His experience, enthusiasm and personality will help him settle into his new role very quickly."

Trivieri's automotive experience spans more than 25 years including various positions in sales, marketing and customer support in both Canada and Australia.  He earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Western Ontario.

Both of these positions will report to Browning, and are effective August 15.

Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.  It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany.  Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker.  Volkswagen sells the Eos, Golf, GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, CC, Tiguan, Touareg and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers.  All 2011 Volkswagen vehicles come standard-equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC).  This is important because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt.