Baker Hughes vs Volkswagen: Founders, CEOs and History
Baker Hughes was founded in 1987 by Reuben C. Baker, Howard R. Hughes Sr. and is led by Lorenzo Simonelli. Volkswagen was founded in 1937 by Ferdinand Porsche and is led by Oliver Blume.
Company facts
Baker Hughes
- Founded
- 1987
- Headquarters
- Houston, Texas, United States
- Current CEO
- Lorenzo Simonelli
- Employees
- 56,000
Volkswagen
- Founded
- 1937
- Headquarters
- Wolfsburg, Germany
- Current CEO
- Oliver Blume
- Employees
- 663,000
Founders
Baker Hughes
Reuben C. Baker
Baker Hughes dates from a 1987 merger, but both halves were built on early drilling patents. Reuben C. Baker was drilling in the Coalinga field in California when he patented the Baker Well Casing Shoe on July 16, 1907.
Howard R. Hughes Sr.
Howard Robard Hughes Sr. (September 9, 1869 to January 14, 1924) founded Hughes Tool Company. Born in Missouri, he studied engineering and worked the Texas and Louisiana oil fields before going into partnership with Walter B. Sharp.
Volkswagen
Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951) was an Austrian-born automotive engineer who had worked for Lohner, Austro-Daimler and Daimler-Benz before opening his own design office in Stuttgart in 1931.
CEOs and their tenures
Baker Hughes
- James D. Woods1987–1997
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
James D. Woods was chief executive of Baker International and became chief executive of Baker Hughes Incorporated when the merger with Hughes Tool was formally completed in early April 1987.
Source - Max L. Lukens1997–2000
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Max L. Lukens joined Baker Hughes in 1981 and served as chairman, president and chief executive from 1997 until January 2000.
Source - Michael E. Wiley2000–2004
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Michael E. Wiley, previously president and chief operating officer of Atlantic Richfield, became president, chairman and chief executive of Baker Hughes effective August 14, 2000.
Source - Chad C. Deaton2004–2012
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Chad C. Deaton joined Baker Hughes from Hanover Compressor and served as chairman, president and chief executive from October 2004 until January 2012, then as executive chairman from 2012 to 2013.
Source - Martin Craighead2012–2017
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Martin Craighead joined Baker Hughes in 1986, became president in July 2010, chief executive in January 2012 and chairman in April 2013.
Source - Lorenzo Simonelli2017–present
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Lorenzo Simonelli has been a director, president and chief executive since the GE Oil and Gas combination closed in July 2017 and chairman since October 2017. He joined GE in 1994, led GE Transportation from July 2008 and GE Oil and Gas from October 2013.
Source
Volkswagen
- Hermann Münch1946–1947
Chief Executive Officer
Early executive involved in the incredibly complex immediate post-war administration of the completely destroyed factory under British military control.
Source - Heinrich Nordhoff1948–1968
Chief Executive Officer
The absolute legendary post-war architect who took the ruins of the VW factory and transformed the Beetle into a massive, globally beloved cultural icon and economic miracle.
Source - Kurt Lotz1968–1971
Chief Executive Officer
Early post-war leader who began the critical process of diversifying VW's lineup beyond relying entirely on a single model (the Beetle).
Source - Rudolf Leiding1971–1975
Chief Executive Officer
Crucial CEO who managed the extremely difficult, highly risky transition away from the iconic but severely outdated Beetle toward modern, front-wheel-drive water-cooled cars (like the Golf).
Source - Toni Schmücker1975–1982
Chief Executive Officer
Guided the company through the severe financial crises of the 1970s, ensuring the successful launch and massive adoption of the original VW Golf.
Source - Carl Hahn1982–1993
Chief Executive Officer
As CEO in the 1980s, he executed the massive, highly strategic acquisitions of SEAT and Skoda, laying the foundation for VW's absolute dominance in Europe.
Source - Ferdinand Piëch1993–2002
Chief Executive Officer
As the legendary, absolutely ruthless patriarch (and grandson of Ferdinand Porsche), he transformed VW from a struggling mass-market brand into the most powerful automotive conglomerate on Earth.
Source - Bernd Pischetsrieder2002–2006
Chief Executive Officer
Serving as CEO from 2002 to 2006, he oversaw the incredibly complex integration of massive luxury brands like Bugatti and Bentley into the VW Group portfolio.
Source - Martin Winterkorn2007–2015
Chief Executive Officer
As the notoriously demanding, absolutely feared CEO, he oversaw massive global expansion but fostered a culture of absolute terror that led engineers to cheat rather than admit failure.
Source - Matthias Müller2015–2018
Chief Executive Officer
As CEO during the darkest period in modern VW history, he initiated the massive cultural purge of the toxic, highly secretive engineering culture that caused the cheating scandal.
Source - Herbert Diess2018–2022
Chief Executive Officer
Serving as CEO, he forcefully dragged the massive, highly bureaucratic legacy automaker into the Tesla era, though his abrasive style alienated the powerful Porsche-Piëch families.
Source - Oliver Blume2022–present
Chairman of the Board of Management
He also ran Porsche AG alongside the group role until Michael Leiters took over as Porsche CEO on January 1, 2026, leaving Blume focused on Volkswagen Group.
Source
Timeline: Baker Hughes and Volkswagen side by side
1907Baker Hughes
Reuben C. Baker patents the Well Casing Shoe
On July 16, 1907, Reuben Carlton Baker was granted U.S. Patent No. 860,115 for the Well Casing Shoe, a device that kept oil flowing while casing was run into a well.
1909Baker Hughes
Howard R. Hughes Sr. patents the two-cone roller drill bit
Howard R. Hughes Sr., working with Walter B. Sharp, tested a dual-cone roller bit on a rig at Goose Creek, Texas, and was granted U.S. patents on August 10, 1909.
1913Baker Hughes
Baker Casing Shoe Company founded in Coalinga, California
Baker created the Baker Casing Shoe Company to manufacture and license his casing accessories. The design of the Baker casing shoe stayed essentially unchanged for about 40 years and the business became a pillar of the emerging oilfield service sector.
1915Baker Hughes
Sharp-Hughes renamed Hughes Tool Company
Walter B. Sharp died in 1912 and Hughes acquired his partner stake. The business was renamed Hughes Tool Company in 1915. Its rock bits funded the fortune later inherited by Howard Hughes Jr.
1928Baker Hughes
Baker Casing Shoe Company renamed Baker Oil Tools
The company was renamed Baker Oil Tools, Inc. as it widened its range from casing shoes into well completion and production equipment.
1937Volkswagen
Volkswagen founded
Volkswagen was founded under the German Labour Front as part of a state-directed people's car program.
1945Volkswagen
Wolfsburg restarted
British military administration helped restart peacetime production at Wolfsburg after World War II.
1965Volkswagen
Audi foundation added
Volkswagen acquired Auto Union from Daimler-Benz, creating the foundation for modern Audi.
1974Volkswagen
Golf production begins
The Golf gave Volkswagen a modern front-engine, front-wheel-drive compact platform after the Beetle era.
1976Baker Hughes
Baker Oil Tools reorganised as Baker International Corporation
The Baker businesses were reorganised under the Baker International Corporation holding company, the entity that would merge with Hughes Tool eleven years later.
1987Baker Hughes
Baker International and Hughes Tool merge to form Baker Hughes Incorporated
The merger was formally completed in early April 1987 once a Justice Department consent decree was signed and filed, and the Los Angeles Times reported the combination at about $1.2 billion. James D.
1990Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes buys Eastman Christensen
Baker Hughes acquired Eastman Christensen, a specialist in directional drilling equipment and measurement-while-drilling tools. The capability became the core of what is now the Well Construction product line.
1998Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes acquires Western Atlas in a $5.5 billion merger
Baker Hughes and Western Atlas signed a definitive merger agreement valued at $5.5 billion in May 1998, adding seismic acquisition, wireline logging and reservoir evaluation. The Western Atlas wireline division became Baker Atlas.
2000Baker Hughes
Michael E. Wiley becomes chairman, president and chief executive
After Max L. Lukens resigned in January 2000 and director Joe B. Foster served as interim chairman, president and chief executive, Baker Hughes named former ARCO executive Michael Wiley as president, chairman and chief executive effective August 14, 2000.
2006Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes exits the WesternGeco seismic joint venture
Schlumberger bought the Baker Hughes 30% interest in the WesternGeco seismic joint venture for $2.4 billion, ending the partnership formed in 2000 and removing seismic acquisition from the Baker Hughes portfolio.
2007Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes pays $44.1 million to settle Kazakhstan bribery charges
On April 26, 2007, subsidiary Baker Hughes Services International pleaded guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations and paid an $11 million criminal fine for payments routed to an official in connection with the Karachaganak field in Kazakhstan.
2010Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes completes the $5.5 billion BJ Services acquisition
Baker Hughes closed its cash-and-stock acquisition of pressure pumping and cementing company BJ Services on April 28, 2010. The Justice Department required the divestiture of BJ vessel-based stimulation assets in the U.S.
2012Volkswagen
Porsche consolidated
Porsche became a controlled sport-luxury profit anchor within Volkswagen Group.
2014Baker Hughes
Halliburton agrees to buy Baker Hughes for $34.6 billion
On November 17, 2014, Halliburton and Baker Hughes announced a definitive stock-and-cash agreement valued at $34.6 billion. The deal drew antitrust review in the United States and Europe almost immediately.
2015Volkswagen
Matthias Müller becomes CEO
Matthias Müller became CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft in 2015. Chief executive of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft from 2015 to 2018.
2015Volkswagen
Emissions Scandal
US regulators accused Volkswagen in September 2015 of fitting diesel cars with software that cheated emissions tests.
2016Baker Hughes
Halliburton deal abandoned and Halliburton pays a $3.5 billion fee
The Justice Department sued on April 6, 2016, to block the combination. The companies terminated the merger agreement on May 1, 2016, and Halliburton paid Baker Hughes the $3.5 billion termination fee by May 4, 2016.
2017Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes combines with GE Oil and Gas; Lorenzo Simonelli becomes CEO
The combination closed on July 3, 2017, creating Baker Hughes, a GE company. Baker Hughes shareholders received a special cash dividend of $17.50 per share and 37.5% of the new company, with GE holding 62.5%.
2018Volkswagen
Herbert Diess becomes CEO
Herbert Diess became CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft in 2018. Chief executive of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft from 2018 to 2022.
2019Baker Hughes
Company renamed Baker Hughes Company and GE drops below a majority stake
GE sold shares in September 2019 for about $2.7 billion in net proceeds, cutting its holding to roughly 38.4%.
2021Baker Hughes
Stock listing moves from the New York Stock Exchange to Nasdaq
Baker Hughes announced on October 27, 2021 that it would move its Class A common stock and listed bonds to the Nasdaq Global Select Market, and trading there began on December 7, 2021 under the same BKR ticker.
2022Baker Hughes
GE ownership ends and Baker Hughes suspends most Russian activity
The 2022 Form 10-K states that GE no longer had an economic interest in Baker Hughes Holdings LLC as of December 31, 2022, down from 11.4% a year earlier.
2022Volkswagen
Oliver Blume becomes chairman
Oliver Blume became chairman of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft in 2022. He also ran Porsche AG alongside the group role until Michael Leiters took over as Porsche CEO on January 1, 2026, leaving Blume focused on Volkswagen Group.
2024Volkswagen
Rivian software joint venture
Volkswagen and Rivian launched a software joint venture targeting next-generation electrical architecture.
2025Baker Hughes
Record FY2025 adjusted EBITDA, orders and free cash flow
Revenue was $27.733B, roughly flat against $27.829B in 2024, with attributable net income of $2.588B. Adjusted EBITDA reached a record $4,825M, orders a record $29,585M including a record $14,871M at IET, and free cash flow a record $2,732M.
2025Volkswagen
Revenue reaches ~$364B (EUR321.9B)
Volkswagen reported ~$364 billion (EUR321.9 billion) in sales revenue, ~$10.1 billion (EUR8.9 billion) in operating result, and 8.984 million deliveries.
2026Baker Hughes
Chart Industries acquired and two businesses divested
Baker Hughes completed its $13.6 billion acquisition of Chart Industries on July 16, 2026 and set it up as a third reporting segment led by senior vice president Jim Apostolides, targeting $325 million of annualised cost synergies within three years.
Acquisitions
Baker Hughes
- Chart Industries, Inc.2026$13.6B
- Continental Disc Corporation2025$540M
- GE Oil and Gas2017$7.4B
- BJ Services Company2010$5.5B
- Western Atlas Inc.1998$5.5B
- Eastman Christensen1990Undisclosed
Volkswagen
- Porsche AG2012Undisclosed
- Bentley Motors1998Undisclosed
- Auto Union / Audi1965Undisclosed
Questions about Baker Hughes vs Volkswagen
Who is the CEO of Baker Hughes Company and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft?
Baker Hughes Company is led by Lorenzo Simonelli and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft is led by Oliver Blume. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Baker Hughes Company founded vs Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft?
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1937 — 50 years before Baker Hughes Company, which was founded in 1987. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Baker Hughes Company.
How many employees does Baker Hughes Company have compared to Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft?
Baker Hughes Company employs approximately 56,000 people, while Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft employs approximately 663,000. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft has the larger workforce at 663,000 employees, compared to Baker Hughes Company's 56,000. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Baker Hughes Company and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft headquartered?
Baker Hughes Company is headquartered in United States and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft is headquartered in Germany. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Baker Hughes Company and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft?
Baker Hughes Company was founded by Reuben C. Baker, Howard R. Hughes Sr.. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft was founded by Ferdinand Porsche.
Which company has a longer operating history — Baker Hughes Company or Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft?
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft has been operating for approximately 89 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Baker Hughes Company has been in operation for around 39 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Baker Hughes vs Volkswagen overview