Key Points:
- René Reif has been working for PowerCo since 2025 and most recently led the construction of Gigafactory St. Thomas.
- He will be responsible for the planning, development and operation of PowerCo's global production network.
- He succeeds Sebastian Wolf, who will leave the Group at his own request.
PowerCo appoints René Reif as new COO amid leadership transition
Salzgitter. René Reif will become the new Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Member of the Executive Board of PowerCo SE with effect from April 1, 2026. This decision was approved by the Supervisory Board of PowerCo SE. Reif has been working for PowerCo SE since 2025 and was most recently responsible for the construction of the St. Thomas gigafactory in Canada. Prior to that, he worked for Daimler AG for over 30 years. As Chief Operations Officer, he will be responsible for the planning, construction and operation of PowerCo's cell factories in Europe and North America.
Thomas Schmall, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PowerCo SE, said:
Sebastian Wolf played a key role in developing the standard factory concept and shaped the start-up phase of PowerCo through the "Line Zero" validation line and the construction of cell factories in Salzgitter, Valencia and St.
" Thomas. With these contributions, he has helped position PowerCo as a European technology driver in the battery industry. On behalf of the entire PowerCo SE, I would like to express my gratitude for his dedication and wish him every success in his future role. With René Reif, we have gained a highly experienced production expert. For more than three decades, he has built and managed factories and global production networks around the world. Under his leadership, we will continue to systematically ramp up the cell factories in Salzgitter, Valencia and St. Thomas and further strengthen PowerCo's global production network."
René Reif was born in 1963 and has studied mechanical engineering in Konstanz, Coventry and Berlin. He has held management positions at PowerCo since the beginning of 2025 and was most recently responsible for the construction of the St. Thomas Gigafactory in Canada. Prior to that, he worked for Daimler AG for more than 30 years in management positions in Brazil and China, among other places. In his last station, he was responsible for the Mercedes engine plant in Berlin.
Sebastian Wolf has built up the operations department of PowerCo SE as COO since 2021. A major milestone was the successful commissioning of the Salzgitter gigafactory at the end of 2025. Previously, Wolf held various management positions at the Volkswagen Group, Farasis Energy, Bosch and Boston Consulting Group. Wolf was born in 1990 and studied engineering at the Universities of Aachen, Bath and Tsinghua in Beijing
