Gerd Klauss, a former govt with Mercedes-Benz who went on to go Audi of America and later Volkswagen Group of America, died Aug. 7 at his dwelling in Southport, Connecticut. He was 76.

A local of Germany, Klauss studied economics at universities in Freiberg and Bonn and at Harvard College within the U.S. He started his automotive profession with Mercedes-Benz of America in 1978, and in 1992, he was named head of Audi of America.

A advertising and marketing specialist, Klauss in 1994 sought to reposition Audi downmarket as a substitute of straight competing at value factors in opposition to German rivals Mercedes and BMW. In 1999, he turned CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. He retired Dec. 31, 2004.

In a current put up on LinkedIn, present VW of America CEO Scott Keogh, whose profession path has adopted the identical trajectory as Klauss’, referred to as Klauss a “legend” whose superpower was listening.

“Beneath his management, the German mothership and its American starship rallied U.S. sellers to set a brand new course for the 4 rings,” Keogh wrote. Audi, he mentioned, “merely wouldn’t be the place it’s in the present day with out him.”