As President and CEO of GAZ Group Vadim Sorokin will be in charge of strategic and operational management of the Company. In parallel he will also stay at the helm of LCV Division. Mr. Sorokin has been working in GAZ Group since 2008. Before taking on the top job in the Division he was serving as First deputy Chairman of the Management board of the Company on operating activities.
Since 2009 he has headed LCV Division, which has become during this time a flagship business of GAZ Group in creating new products, greater production efficiency and financial performance. Since 2010 Vadim Sorokin has been responsible for GAZ Group strategy development and has managed implementation of the best competences of LCV Division in the field of development and production lineup technologies on all businesses of GAZ Group. Vadim Sorokin is a winner of the Governmental Prize for Quality, holder of honorary titles: "Best manager of Russia" and "Best inventor of the Nizhny Novgorod region". Mr. Sorokin is a member of the International quality professional guild.
Seeking to strengthen corporate management and business development, the GAZ Group has now created the positions of Chief Operating Officer and Director on business and corporate development.
Günther Heiden has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer. He will take charge of the functional management of production units, including such areas as production engineering and staff development. Günther Heiden is currently COO of SPM which is a global international supplier of interior and exterior components and systems for the automotive industry. Earlier, for 20 yeas Mr. Heiden held senior positions in Magna.
In the near future Dr. Albrecht Köhler will also join the management team of GAZ Group as Director on business and corporate development. His responsibilities will include cost reduction activities and increase in staff functions efficiency. Currently Dr. Albrecht Köhler is COO and a member of the Executive Board of Knorr Bremse Systems for Rail Vehicles. Also Mr. Köhler has held various senior positions at Daimler-Benz.
S. Wolf, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Russian Machines Corporation: "Vadim Sorokin has enormous experience of managing an automotive business. Under his leadership, the LCV Division which includes the GAZ plant has reached a new level of development. At the same time Vadim Sorokin has contributed a lot to the roll-out of the Division's best practices across other businesses of GAZ Group. With him as President and CEO, the new management team of GAZ Group will focus on improving business efficiency, will continue to develop the lineup and to strengthen the company's competitiveness, as well as to implement the ongoing joint projects together with international partners".
