Volvo poaches McDonald's to appoint chief digital officer

On December 1, Volvo Cars announced the appointment of Atif Rafiq as its first Chief Digital Officer, who will take up the position on January 2, 2017. Rafiq started working as McDonald's Chief Digital Officer in 2013, helping McDonald's build its digital operation system from scratch.

The Chief Digital Officer (CDO) is responsible for a large amount of digital content within the enterprise, helping the enterprise interact with customers, and overseeing the operation of the rapidly developing digital department, such as mobile applications, social media and related applications, virtual products, and "crazy" network information management and market operations. The responsibilities of the Chief Digital Officer include designing and implementing social strategies that can develop brand loyalty and social media support, and realize the transformation of the enterprise from traditional business to e-commerce.

Volvo hired Rafiq to advance its digital transformation. In a statement, Volvo said Rafiq will "focus on how users interact with their cars when buying, driving, entertaining and experiencing services, and drive Volvo's development in related areas." Rafiq will be responsible for "user-facing applications, digital touchpoints and enterprise systems that support the company's products and services."

Klas Bendrik, Volvo's senior vice president, will be in charge of the IT department and chief information officer of the Volvo Group. Bendrik will handle the handover and help Rafiq transition to his new job. After that, Bendrik will leave Volvo and start his new position.

McDonald's has not yet responded to Rafiq's resignation.

Accelerate development in line with the trend

Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement on December 1 that Volvo chose Rafiq as CEO because Volvo needed to rethink the way users buy cars and how to communicate with users after sales. Samuelsson is very confident in the new digital officer, saying that Rafiq is "fully capable of driving" Volvo's development in this area.

One of Volvo's technology plans is a project called "the world's largest autonomous driving trial", which will be implemented next year. The Drive Me project will invite 100 families to experience the autonomous driving function of the XC90 on selected roads in Gothenburg, Sweden. In addition, Volvo has signed an agreement with Uber to jointly develop autonomous vehicles.

Samuelsson pointed out that automation, electrification and connectivity of automobiles have been the main trends in recent years, and Rafiq will ensure that Volvo can make technological progress in these areas and develop in a cohesive and strategic manner.

Rafiq also expressed great confidence in Volvo's future. In the statement, Rafiq said that the automotive industry is currently facing "the biggest turning point in 100 years". "With the development of new technologies such as computer vision and machine learning, coupled with changes in consumers' shared travel methods, the scope of digitalization is becoming wider and wider. I believe that Volvo has responded to these challenges in a timely manner and will become an industry leader in the future."

New Chief Digital Officer

Atif Rafiq, 43, has worked in the Internet sector for 18 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. Rafiq calls himself a "local digital executive" with expertise in e-commerce, mobile devices, digital media, social media and retail.

As an "old man" in Silicon Valley, Rafiq has held general management positions at Amazon, Yahoo and America Online (AOL), and joined McDonald's as Chief Digital Officer in 2013. In order to better recruit and train digital talents, Rafiq established McDonald's Digital Center in Silicon Valley in 2014. The projects he was responsible for included mobile device purchase and payment testing and McDonald's related activities during the World Cup. At the same time, Rafiq was also the CEO and co-founder of a startup company and provided advice to more than 10 startups. After taking up his new position, Rafiq will become a member of Volvo Cars' executive management team.

Volvo personnel changes

Before Rafiq took office, Volvo's senior management structure had undergone a series of changes. In 2017, Volvo Senior Vice President Bendrik will become the third person to leave Volvo's management in just one year.

Audi just announced last week that it had hired Volvo's R&D chief Peter Mertens and said the new R&D chief would soon become a member of the board of directors. Volvo has not yet announced Mertens' successor.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.