The Chairman of the Works Council and general secretary of the UGT union at SEAT S.A., Matías Carnero, has been appointed member of the Supervisory Board of the Volkswagen Group as of 1st April. Carnero’s appointment was proposed by the German trade union IG Metall and he will combine this position with his current responsibilities. For the first time, a representative of SEAT S.A., and also a Spaniard, is part of this board.
Carnero has been with SEAT S.A. for more than 30 years.
The new member of the Volkswagen Group Supervisory Board joined SEAT S.A. in 1987 as an assembly worker at the Zona Franca facilities in Barcelona, and a year later he was elected trade union delegate. In 1999, he became Chairman of the SEAT Martorell Works Council in Martorell, and general secretary and spokesperson for the UGT union at SEAT S.A. in 2003. Since then he has been a member of the Presidium of the European and Global Works Council in the Volkswagen Group. In addition, in 2016 he was appointed president of the UGT Catalunya General Workers Union and in 2019, Chairman of the SEAT S.A. Intercentres Committee. Carnero holds all these positions to date.
The new Board member underlined that “this appointment is a recognition of the employees of SEAT S.A. and of all the men and women who work in the automotive industry in Spain. I would like to thank IG Metall for proposing me for this position.” According to Carnero, “being part of the Supervisory Board gives us the opportunity to participate in the body where the most relevant strategic decisions of the Volkswagen Group are made.” “From this position, I will continue to defend all SEAT and Group employees and the company” he emphasised.
SEAT S.A. President Wayne Griffiths congratulated Matías Carnero, highlighting: “He is an experienced person with great leadership skills and a firm commitment to the company. I’m convinced he will be able to contribute new ideas to the Group’s Supervisory Board and that he will perfectly represent the voice of the employees, as well as that of the company and the SEAT and CUPRA brands.”
SEAT S.A. Executive Vice-President for Human Resources and Organisation Xavier Ros explained: “Matías Carnero’s professional career as Chairman of the SEAT S.A. Works Council bears out this appointment in the Volkswagen Group. Matías will perform his new function with the same determination he shows in our company and will contribute his extensive knowledge of the industry.”
The Supervisory Board is the highest governing body of the Volkswagen Group.
The Supervisory Board is the oversight body of the Volkswagen Group’s management. Its functions include the approval of the company’s most important strategic decisions and the appointment of the members of the Group Board of Management. It consists of a total of 20 people, half of whom are shareholder representatives and half employee representatives elected by the employees themselves in accordance with the German Co-determination Act.
A total of seven of these ten representatives are employees of the company chosen by the employees and the other three are representatives of the trade unions, elected in elections by the employees. Matías Carnero will occupy one of these three positions and will be the sole international member of the workers’ representatives.
