Change in Sales Management
With our broad product portfolio for current and future-oriented vehicle concepts, we enable our customers worldwide to transform at their pace and in line with their markets. And our Sales department plays a central role in our interaction with customers. We would therefore like to inform you about an important personnel change in this special issue of “Press Line”: Our Vice President Corporate Sales, Armin Ihle, will be entering into the release phase of his retirement on May 31, 2024. Our new Vice President Corporate Sales will be Thorsten Grah. He took up his position on May 1, 2024, ensuring a smooth handover.
Armin Ihle has Achieved an Outstanding Track Record for the Hirschvogel Group
Armin Ihle joined Hirschvogel in Denklingen in 1997 as Sales Manager. Parallel to the internationalization of the company, he has built up a strong, global Sales team over the past 27 years, leading it with overall responsibility. Since 2012, he has held the position of Vice President Corporate Sales and, since 2021, has been a member of the Executive Committee at the Hirschvogel Group.
Together with his team, he has achieved outstanding results, setting the course for the extremely positive development and success of our Group. We – the Shareholders, the Management Board, and all employees – sincerely thank him for his extraordinary commitment, his passion, and for all that he has accomplished.
On May 31, 2024, Armin Ihle will enter into the release phase of his retirement. We wish him all the very best for this new phase in his life.
“I wish my successor Thorsten Grah all the best in his new position. Here at Hirschvogel, he has an extremely motivated, successful, and international Sales team at his side. He can build on longstanding and trusting customer relationships. The diverse and global challenges that lie ahead of us in the automotive industry require cooperation based on partnership. They can only be mastered together.”
Armin Ihle
Thorsten Grah: An Expert on the Global Automotive Market
Thorsten Grah studied International Business Administration and has over 20 years’ experience in the automotive industry. He began his career as a Key Account Manager at Formel D. In 2004, he joined automotive supplier Faurecia, holding various positions of responsibility, including Global Account Manager, a role which also involved looking after the BMW Group.
After moving to the Valeo Group, he returned to Faurecia in 2019 and developed the business with BMW, Daimler, and VW in the area of “Clean Mobility”. Most recently, he was Senior Customer Business Unit Director and Global Account Director for German customers as well as for commercial vehicles. On May 1, 2024, he joined the Hirschvogel Group as Vice President Corporate Sales.
We are looking forward to working with Thorsten Grah. He will build on the outstanding work of Armin Ihle and, in view of his experience in transformation processes and his expertise in the global automotive market, he will work together with his team to further expand our position as a customer-oriented, innovative automotive supplier.
“The automotive industry is going through one of its biggest changes yet, involving technological transformation, shifting markets, and economic effects all at the same time. These challenges require trust and fairness to ensure cooperation based on partnership. I look forward to continuing and further developing the constructive collaboration built up over the years with our customers, my team, and my colleagues.”
Thorsten Grah