Prof. Dr. Carl H. Hahn has committed his whole professional career to the automobile industry. For half a century he helped to shape the development of Volkswagen decisively. With him in a responsible position the company became one of the leading automobile enterprises in Europe, globally positioned for the world of the 21st century.

Carl H. Hahn (born July 1st, 1926 in Chemnitz) comes from an industrialist family, which was already connected to the beginnings of automotive engineering in Germany. His father was one of the founders of Auto Union, the consortium of Audi, Wanderer, Horch and DKW. After his A-levels Hahn studied business administration in Germany, Switzerland and Great Britain as well as political science in France. In 1952 he did his doctorate in Bern becoming a Dr. rer. pol., then studied Italian and art history in Perugia, and afterwards did training at Fiat Italy. The following year he spent at the OECD in Paris, before he moved on to Volkswagen in Wolfsburg in December 1954. From 1959 to 1964  he was head of the 'Volkswagen of America' in the USA. In 1964 he was elected to the VW board, where he was responsible for the sales department from 1965 onwards. From 1973 to 1981 he reorganised the tyre manufacturer Conti AG in Hannover as chairman, in the following returning to VW in Wolfsburg as chairman of the board. His name is connected to the successful successors of the Beetle and the rise of Audi. Hahn transformed the company into a global corporation by opening new production plants in China, Eastern and Southern Europe. Chaired by him the joining of Seat and Skoda took place and cooperation with Ford Motor Co. and the Japanese Toyota Motor Corp. was started. In 1993 Hahn became a member of the board of directors, which he left in 1997.

After his retirement Carl H. Hahn was a member of the supervisory board of many European and US-American companies. Even today he takes his place on boards of directors as well as supervisory boards of various national and international companies. In addition he is honorary professor for “Industrial entrepreneur strategies” at the Westsaechsische Hochschule Zwickau (polytechnic). Furthermore he works in several political, cultural and social organisations.

Hahn was awarded honourable degrees by nine universities at home and abroad. Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Kyrgyzstan and the Federal Republic of Germany as well as Lower Saxony and Saxony decorated him with orders. He is honorary citizen of Wolfsburg, Chemnitz, Zwickau and Changchun in China. In 1999 he was namend one of ten “Corporate America’s Outstanding Directors” and in 2006 he was included in the “European Automotive Hall of Fame”.