Ex-Google executive, Jens Monsees has been hired as BMW’s vice president of digital strategy.
In this newly created position, according to a report by German magazine Automobilwoche, he has been given unfettered freedom and autonomy to implement sweeping changes.
Competitors Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz are ahead of the Bavarian automaker in this game; with the former hiring Johan Jungwirth (he previously headed Mac Systems Engineering at Apple and was a Mercedes-Benz executive before that) – who was reportedly working on the Apple car project.
A BMW company source revealed to British magazine Autocar, “Up until now BMW operations have been heavily driven by engineering. It is part-and-parcel of the working culture. However, there has been a clear shift towards the IT side of the business, and this is set to be accelerated with the appointment of Monsees.”