January - March

Fresh impetus to Porsche Public Relations in North AmericaBernd Harling appointed General Manager, Public Relations in Atlanta

Stuttgart. Porsche is determined to rev up its Public Relations efforts in North America to effectively support its ambitious growth plans in its most important market. Anton Hunger, Head of PR at Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG has secured the collaboration of Bernd Harling (57) for this purpose. Beginning April 1, 2004, he will assume the position of General Manager, Public Relations, of Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) in Atlanta, Georgia. Harling will support Peter Schwarzenbauer, President and CEO of PCNA since March of last year, in meeting the growing interest in the expansive product portfolio of Porsche, in particular among decision-makers and the me-dia.

Anton Hunger: "Bernd Harling's experience in the automotive industry and his longstanding contacts with the English-speaking media will provide our PR in North America with new, tangible momentum. And the fact that he has remained a true-blue Swabian despite his career in the US is a nice little extra."

Bernd Harling has worked in New York for the last fourteen years, most recently he managed his own communication services firm. Prior to that he was responsible for the corporate communications of the former Daimler-Benz AG in North America. Motoring journalists still know Harling from his days in Stuttgart as Head of PR for Passenger Cars at Mercedes-Benz in the 1980s.

With more than 30,000 units sold in the past year, North America is by far the most important market for Porsche. PCNA intends to double its sales over the next few years, not least due to its extremely successful Cayenne series.

GO

27.02.2004