Seidl appointed interim COO of Saab Cars North America, replacing Colleran

Royal Oak, Michigan, Jan. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Saab Automobile AB announced the appointment of Matthias Seidl as interim Chief Operating Officer for Saab Cars North America, effective immediately. Seidl replaces Michael Colleran, who has resigned to pursue further career opportunities. Seidl temporarily takes on responsibility for Saab Cars North America in addition to his current position as Executive Director Global Sales for Saab Automobile. Saab Automobile expects to announce a new Chief Operating Officer for Saab Cars North America soon.

Seidl has considerable experience in the United States market, having spent several years as Chief Operating Officer for Volkswagen of America in the late 2000s. Prior to that, Seidl was Executive Director Sales American Region for Volkswagen and Audi.

"We thank Michael Colleran for his service and assistance in rebuilding the Saab brand in North America and the Saab team wishes him the very best," said Jan Ake Jonsson, President and CEO of Saab Automobile AB.

Information from media.saab.com:



Mr. Seidl joined Saab in 2010 from Detroit-based automotive consultancy API, where he was President and CEO. Prior to that, Mr. Seidl spent 20 years in the Volkswagen Group where he held several senior executive positions in the sales organizations of Audi and Volkswagen. At Volkswagen, he was COO for the brand in the United States.

During his 12 years at Audi, he was a senior sales and marketing executive in the European and Asia-Pacific region prior to running the brand’s North and South American sales region. Mr. Seidl holds an MBA from the University of Wales, while he also holds degrees from Harvard Business School and Cass Business School in London. As Executive Director Sales, Mr. Seidl is responsible for overseeing Saab Automobile’s global sales operations.