Bentley’s new CEO is the man behind the Porsche 918 Spyder

Bentley has confirmed Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser as its new Chairman and CEO, replacing Adrian Hallmark who left the company in March to take up a new position at Aston Martin in October.

Dr. Walliser has previously been a Porsche man through and through, having joined the Stuttgart manufacturer as an intern in 1995 and risen to become overall project manager for the 918 Spyder, head of Porsche Motorsports and head of roadgoing sports cars (managing the 911 and 718 models), among other key roles. From 2022, he has been in charge of overall vehicle development (for vehicle architecture and characteristics) at Porsche. 

A Stuttgart native himself, Dr. Walliser has a background in mechanical engineering and will be leading Bentley into an electrified future: the Crewe firm has previously stated that it intends to have an electrified line-up by 2030, as part of its Beyond100 product strategy. Although it recently confirmed that its first pure EV will be delayed until 2026.

‘On Bentley’s ongoing path toward becoming the leading provider in the luxury segment, Frank-Steffen Walliser’s many years of experience and knowledge of the luxury segment will be invaluable,’ says an official statement from Gernot Döllner, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, with responsibility for brands including Bentley.

‘I am approaching this job with great respect and looking forward to having a team in Crewe that has shown impressive performance over the last few years,’ is Frank-Steffen Walliser’s official statement. ‘The continuing transformation of the automotive industry will be a major task for Bentley as well, a task that I am happy to take on with the team.’

Dr. Walliser is the second former head of Porsche R&D to lead Bentley: Wolfgang Durheimer, who was previously in charge of the 911 model line and head of development and product management at Porsche from 2001, subsequently had two stints in charge of the firm (as well as being president of Bugatti) until Hallmark took over the role in 2018.

Frank-Steffen Walliser will take up his new post at Bentley on 1 July 2024.