Klarna vs Volkswagen: Founders, CEOs and History

Klarna

Founded

2005

Headquarters

London, United Kingdom

Current CEO

Sebastian Siemiatkowski

Employees

2,831

Volkswagen

Founded

1937

Headquarters

Wolfsburg, Germany

Current CEO

Oliver Blume

Employees

663,000

Klarna

• Sebastian Siemiatkowski

  Sebastian Siemiatkowski, born in 1981 in Sweden to Polish immigrant parents, co-founded Klarna (originally Kreditor) with Niklas Adalberth and Victor Jacobsson in 2005.

• Niklas Adalberth

  Niklas Adalberth co-founded Klarna in 2005 with Sebastian Siemiatkowski and Victor Jacobsson and helped run the business during its expansion as Deputy CEO.

• Victor Jacobsson

  Victor Jacobsson co-founded Klarna in 2005 with Sebastian Siemiatkowski and Niklas Adalberth.

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.

Klarna

1. Sebastian Siemiatkowski2005–present

   Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer

   Has led Klarna since its founding, growing it from a Stockholm invoice startup into a $3.5 billion-revenue public company.

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2. Niklas Adalberth2005–2015

   Co-founder, former Deputy CEO

   As Co-Founder, he served as Deputy CEO, scaling the company across Europe before resigning in 2015 to found the Norrsken Foundation, a tech-focused philanthropic fund.

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3. Niclas Neglén2021–present

   Chief Financial Officer

   As CFO, he engineered the severe cost-cutting measures required to drive the company back toward profitability ahead of its highly anticipated US IPO.

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Volkswagen

1. 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.

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2. 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.

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3. 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).

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4. 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).

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5. 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.

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6. 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.

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7. 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.

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8. 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.

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9. 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.

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10. 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.

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11. 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.

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12. 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.

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Klarna

• PriceRunner2022Undisclosed
• APPRL2021Undisclosed
• HERO2021Undisclosed
• Stocard2021Undisclosed
• Moneymour2020Undisclosed
• BillPay2017Undisclosed

Volkswagen

• Porsche AG2012Undisclosed
• Bentley Motors1998Undisclosed
• Auto Union / Audi1965Undisclosed