The lecture hall was filled to capacity, and even the overflow area could not accommodate the crowd. For Chengguang Li, the visit by the Bentley CEO was also the fulfilment of a long-held dream. In an entertaining conversation, the chairman took the audience on his journey. First to his childhood: he grew up in Reutlingen and helped his parents in their electrical goods store. “My favorite subject even back then was physics, because it offers solutions and is not as abstract as math,” Walliser recalled. After serving in the German Armed Forces and studying at the University of Stuttgart, he began his career at Porsche. He held various management positions at the company for 29 years.
A Leap Into the Deep End
“After being the number one doctoral student at Porsche, I was immediately given the position of supervisor – so I never really worked,” he says with a laugh. Initially, his tasks were in technology monitoring and market research. Among other things, he had to ask himself why the wind noise in the Mercedes convertible was quieter than in the 911 convertible. Shortly afterwards, he became technical assistant to a member of the executive board. In this position, he was able to expand his network enormously “and I understood how management works.”
Walliser was then given responsibility for motorsport strategy. A leap into the deep end: “To be honest, I had no clou at the beginning. I read the rules of the FIA motorsport association on holiday – much to my wife's displeasure.” Risk tolerance is one of three basic prerequisites for success that he shares with students: “Be courageous and make decisions, keep track of the big picture and define milestones.” At the same time, he learned at the racetracks how important respect for the competitors and perseverance are: “Only full commitment brings good results.”
The Year of Grey Hair
And he needed this perseverance, especially in 2018: the diesel scandal was making waves, motorsport was the focus at the weekend, then on Mondays it was the revision of the GT3 series and the switch to hybrid engines at 911. “That was the hardest year of my life – after that I was ready for retirement.” This was also the case with what was probably the most important project of his career: “The success of the Porsche 918 Spyder super sports car was very important for the entire company. Porsche was taken over by VW at the time – the future was uncertain.” In addition, time and money were in short supply. At the same time, internal resistance and uncertainties had to be overcome – ultimately with success, albeit with “a lot of grey hair”.
Instead of slowly preparing for retirement, Walliser took on another challenge last year: CEO at Bentley. “I received the offer on Sunday afternoon and had two minutes to decide.” So, he moved to the United Kingdom. Here, his management experience stood him in good stead: “At the beginning, it's always important to listen and learn the language of the company.” A change is also on the horizon in luxury mobility: the first fully electric model is set to hit the market in 2027. Walliser also sees great potential in one customer group: women. Paris Hilton, for example, wants a pink Bentley for Christmas.
Personal Insights
In the subsequent quick-fire question round, presenter Chengguang Li elicited some personal insights from the CEO: in his free time, he enjoys skiing and working on his golf handicap. When travelling with his family, he likes to see as much as possible and rarely stays in one place for long. He is responsible for Christmas dinner in the kitchen. To adapt to driving on the right or left he doesn't need much time. Finally, he had a tongue-in-cheek gift suggestion for the students: “If you're looking for a Christmas present, I can recommend the Bentley champagne basket for £12,000.”