CV
Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann (KTN) has been in top management position in the auto industry for more than 30 years. He is now an investor, board member and advisor to large corporates and start-ups.
KTN moved to Los Angeles, California in 2018 to help build Canoo an electric vehicle startup with a new subscription based business model. In 2020 Canoo went public with a multi billion dollar valuation.
As an investor and advisor he supported the VectoIQ SPAC, which merged with the electric fuel cell truck maker Nikola.
He has been CEO of the tradition-rich automaker Opel from 2013 to 2017. He was also General Motors Executive Vice President & President Europe as well as a member of the GM Executive Committee.
KTN was previously with Volkswagen AG, where he was CEO and Vice President of Volkswagen Group China in Beijing. Previously he also had company-wide responsibility for electric propulsion and was Head of Research and Director of Electronics Strategy.
He was Chairman of the Executive Board of Continental AG and drove the acquisition and integration of Motorola Automotive and Siemens VDO.
He studied electrical engineering at the Universities of Dortmund and Duisburg, where he was also awarded his doctorate. He began his professional career at the Fraunhofer Institute as a research engineer before moving to Motorola Semiconductor, where he worked as an engineer and strategy director responsible for the automobile industry.
The father of three children is a passionate runner, cyclist and ocean sailor.