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BERLIN, Dec 16 Reuters Volkswagen shareholders renewed their criticism of CEO Oliver Blume39;s dual roles on Friday, even as they prepared to rubber stamp a roughly 9.6 billion euro 10.2 billion special dividend following the listing of Porsche AG.
Blume, who became group chief executive in September, has continued as CEO of luxury brand Porsche even after its listing, prompting concerns among some investors about the pressures on his time and potential conflicts of interest.
At a shareholder meeting to approve the special dividend, Blume said Volkswagen was performing well in hard times, with his first hundred days spent on tasks such as reshuffling senior roles, defining its strategy for China and North America, and revising its software and platform strategy.
The Volkswagen Group is on solid footing in a challenging environment, Blume said.
Yet shareholders including DWS and investor association SdK criticised his dual role, with DWS saying governance issues were dragging down Volkswagen39;s valuation.
We don39;t want a parttime CEO neither at the mother, nor the daughter company, Hendrik Schmidt of DWS, which holds 2 of Volkswagen stock according to Eikon data, said.
You are constantly putting on different hats. It is hard for us to…