Dr. Stefan Knirsch was born on May 5, 1966, in Bamberg (Bavaria), Germany. In 1990, after having completed his studies of mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Heilbronn, he started his career in engine design with AUDI AG in Neckarsulm. Dr. Stefan Knirsch joined Porsche AG in 1996 as Project Manager for Engine Development and started working as Project Manager for Engine and Customer Development in 1997. In 2001 he was appointed Head of Basic Engine Development at Porsche AG.
After having earned his doctorate in 2006 at the Institute for Materials Engineering at Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg, he assumed the position of Head of After Sales in the Sales division of Porsche AG in 2007. In 2010 he became Head of Company Quality. Knirsch then joined Rheinmetall Group as CEO of Pierburg GmbH. In May 2013 he returned to Audi and took over as Head of Powertrain Development. He has been a Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG with responsibility for Technical Development since January 1, 2016.
No doubt his experience as part of powertrain development for Audi AG will give him a very good insight into what’s needed for technical development, and his position as a board member will provide him a much stronger voice when it comes to making decisions and directing funding. In the wake of dieselgate, there will likely be more efforts made to prevent this kind of fiasco from occurring again- whether it’s through developing more potent powertrains or to dial back outputs for efficiency ratings.
