[sportrider - latest stories] - Audi completes Ducati purchase by creating new Board

[Ninjette Newsbot]

Audi completes Ducati purchase by creating new Board of Directors

Gabriele Del Torchio remains as CEO of Ducati, joined by Claudio Domenicali on new Ducati Board of DirectorsAs the official new owners of Ducati Motor Holding, Audi AG swiftly moved to assert corporate control over the venerated Italian bike manufacturer by creating a new Board of Directors at Ducati and appointing Audi CEO Rupert Stadler as President of the Board, plus Audi chassis dynamics chief Horst Glaser and Audi CFO Axel Strotbek as board members. Gabriele Del Torchio will remain as CEO of Ducati, and become a member of the board, as will Ducati General Manager/Ducati Corse head Claudio Domenicali. This gives Audi a 3-2 corporate board voting advantage, which is a normal step in company buyouts such as this.

A Ducati Motor Holding Executive Committee was also formed, consisting of members of the Board and members of the previous Ducati Motor Holding management. Del Torchio was also appointed President of this committee.

Del Torchio was also appointed to the Board of Directors of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., as the boutique Italian automaker (like Audi, also owned by the Volkswagen Group) was used as the controlling interest in the sale to facilitate maneuvering through Italian government red tape.

Stadler recently met with Valentino Rossi at the German MotoGP round at the Sachsenring, reportedly to assure him that he and Audi were committed to the MotoGP project. Rossi came away from the meeting enthused about their commitment, and is said to be close to announcing his future intentions in a couple of weeks.




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