Cadillac Poaches Executive From BMW
Cadillac has a new boss in Europe. General Motors’ luxury division has recruited Andreas Schaaf from BMW, who will become the brand’s vice president on July 1.
Schaaf will report directly to Johan de Nysschen, Cadillac’s global brand leader. He’s replacing Thomas Sedran, who’s currently in charge of both the Chevrolet and Cadillac brands in Europe, opposite ends of the GM portfolio.
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His career began at BMW back in 1996 where he worked in the product planning department. Over the last two decades Schaaf has held management positions at the company, serving in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. He even did a stint in South Korea.
Hopefully Schaaf can help improve Cadillac’s sales in Europe. Last year the luxury brand sold just 365 vehicles in this market. That performance is down from 2013 when they moved 395 cars and trucks. Right now their European lineup includes the ATS, CTS, SRX and Escalade models.
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Born and raised in metro Detroit, Craig was steeped in mechanics from childhood. He feels as much at home with a wrench or welding gun in his hand as he does behind the wheel or in front of a camera. Putting his Bachelor's Degree in Journalism to good use, he's always pumping out videos, reviews, and features for AutoGuide.com. When the workday is over, he can be found out driving his fully restored 1936 Ford V8 sedan. Craig has covered the automotive industry full time for more than 10 years and is a member of the Automotive Press Association (APA) and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA).
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Aw yeah, this will turn the company around even faster than Caddy's move to NYC. As impressively relevant as experience in Asia and Africa may be; how will it apply to Cadillac of Europe? Not like he's ever gonna replace the SRX with an X4.