Kurt Lotz
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Kurt Lotz was the second postwar CEO of the Volkswagen automobile company in Germany. He succeeded the legendary Heinrich Nordhoff after Nordhoff died in 1968.
Lotz, thought of as a wunderkind of German industry, made it VW's priority to wean itself off production of its exceedingly popular Beetle when that model began to look dated in comparison to newer small cars in the North American and European markets. In fact, Beetle sales peaked in the United States the same year Lotz took over. Lotz bought out the small German carmaker NSU, gaining its expertise in the watercooled, front-mounted engines and front-wheel-drive layouts necessary to stay ahead of the competition. Work began on a new small car in 1969, a prototype of which was exhibited for the European auto press. The car would become the perrenially popular Volkswagen Golf, also known as the Rabbit and the Caribe in the Western Hemisphere.
Unfortunately, Lotz was unable to maintain control of the company, and he resigned as chairman in 1971. He was succeeded by Rudolf Leiding.
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