Samsung vs Volkswagen: Founders, CEOs and History

Samsung

Founded

1969

Headquarters

Suwon, South Korea

Current CEO

Jun Young-hyun and Roh Tae-moon

Employees

259,149

Volkswagen

Founded

1937

Headquarters

Wolfsburg, Germany

Current CEO

Oliver Blume

Employees

663,000

Samsung

• Lee Byung-chul

  Lee Byung-chul founded Samsung Sanghoe in Daegu in 1938, trading dried fish, produce and noodles.

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.

Samsung

1. Jong-Hee Han2022–2025

   Vice Chairman and CEO

   A longtime TV business leader who helped keep Samsung the top global TV brand. He died suddenly in March 2025 while in office.

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2. Jay Y. Lee2022–present

   Executive Chairman

   Grandson of the founder and son of Lee Kun-hee. He was convicted in the 2017 bribery case and pardoned in 2022, and became Executive Chairman in October 2022. In 2025 the Supreme Court upheld his acquittal in the separate merger and accounting fraud case.

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3. Jun Young-hyun2024–present

   Vice Chairman, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Head of Device Solutions

   He implemented a complete overhaul of the semiconductor division's engineering processes, issuing a rare public apology in 2024 for the company's technological delays.

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4. Roh Tae-moon (TM Roh)2025–present

   Co-Chief Executive Officer, Head of Device eXperience

   As head of the MX (Mobile eXperience) division, he heavily integrated AI features (Galaxy AI) into the S-series flagship phones to combat Apple's dominance in the premium tier.

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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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Samsung

• FlaktGroup2025$1.7B
• Xealth2025Undisclosed
• Harman International2017$8B
• SmartThings2014$200M

Volkswagen

• Porsche AG2012Undisclosed
• Bentley Motors1998Undisclosed
• Auto Union / Audi1965Undisclosed