The Coming Challenge of Automotive Executive Search in 2026  

Nearly every automotive executive learned the same lessons on their way up.

Perfect production efficiency. Build strong dealer relationships. Keep quality high and costs low. For fifty years, that formula worked. 

It just stopped working. 

Look at what happened in the last year. Internal industry pressures combined with external forces like U.S. tariffs and geopolitical tensions disrupted supply chains and shifted consumer demand. Stellantis’ CFO resigned after just 18 months, and CEO Carlos Tavares will step down in 2026. Volkswagen’s operating profit fell €1.3 billion in the first half of 2025, with Audi down roughly 64% and Porsche down about 91%. Toyota expects a tariff hit of ¥1.4 trillion ($9.5 billion) and cut its annual operating profit forecast by 16%. These aren’t minor adjustments. These are the kinds of numbers that force board-level changes and CEO departures. 

Why Are Automotive Companies Struggling?

Stellantis, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and Toyota are run by exceptional strategic thinkers. Carlos Tavares led the PSA-FCA merger that created the world’s fourth-largest automaker and previously turned around PSA Group when he took over in 2014, then made GM’s Opel and Vauxhall profitable within 18 months. Volkswagen’s leadership rebuilt the company after the 2015 dieselgate scandal, paid more than $20 billion in fines and settlements, replaced top management, and pivoted to electric vehicles. Toyota’s executives pioneered the lean manufacturing system that revolutionized global production through the Toyota Production System developed by Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda between 1948 and 1975, and launched the Prius in 1997, creating the modern hybrid vehicle market. 

Yet even these accomplished leaders face challenges their experience didn’t prepare them for. The global electric vehicle market will reach $869.66 billion in 2026, but only Tesla, BYD, Li Auto, and Series Group actually make money selling EVs. Every other automaker loses money on each electric vehicle while regulations and consumer demand force them to build more.  

The problem gets worse because software-defined vehicles will account for at least 90% of new vehicle sales by 2029, creating a $470 billion market in 2026 that will grow to $1.19 trillion by 2036. This means cars are becoming software products that happen to have wheels, requiring automotive C-suite leaders to understand subscription business models and technology development cycles instead of just manufacturing and dealer networks. 

While auto execs wrestle with losing money on EVs and learning software business models, tariffs added $2,700 to $3,000 to average U.S. vehicle prices in early 2025. Supply chains that took decades to optimize suddenly became more expensive to operate because components cross borders multiple times during production.  

One thing will be certain in 2026: each C-suite role will require different skills than the ones that got executives into their current positions. 

What Skills Will Automotive CEOs Need in 2026?

Most traditional automotive CEOs rose through engineering and operations, building expertise in production efficiency, quality control, and dealer relationships. Walk them through a factory floor and they could spot bottlenecks, identify waste, and fix problems by the afternoon. That knowledge still matters, but it now represents maybe a third of what an automotive CEO needs to know. 

For example, modern vehicles contain hundreds of millions of lines of code, more than commercial aircraft. Most automotive CEOs can’t read code. They don’t understand the difference between centralized computing architectures and domain-based systems. When BMW announced its Neue Klasse platform built with Qualcomm, or Hyundai said it would adopt Android Automotive starting in 2026, CEOs likely needed technical staff to translate what those partnership decisions meant for product development and competitive positioning. 

CEOs who can’t evaluate software capabilities are in danger of making poor decisions about partnerships, acquisitions, and internal investments. They can’t properly assess whether engineering teams are building the right products or wasting time on dead ends.    

This is why 69% of automotive executives now say their companies lack sufficient software talent, and most don’t expect to have adequate capabilities until 2034. This means that on top of all their other challenges, automotive CEOs must build talent pipelines for skills they don’t personally have and often can barely define. They need to hire CTOs they might not be able to properly evaluate, approve software architecture decisions they might not fully understand, and compete with technology companies that have decades of software development experience. 

As a result, the CEO role in 2026 will require someone who can make technology decisions at a business level, not just operational ones. That person might never work in a factory or visit a dealership showroom. 

Companies face a difficult choice because of this: promote from within and accept knowledge gaps, or hire from outside and risk bringing in leaders who don’t understand how safety regulations, crash testing requirements, and production realities constrain what’s possible. 

How Will Automotive CFO Responsibilities Change in 2026?

Finance chiefs in automotive spent their careers learning industry-specific accounting: warranty cost modeling, depreciation schedules, dealer floor plan financing, and inventory management. Put them in a quarterly earnings call and they could explain every line item, justify every variance, and project future cash flows with confidence. 

That accounting model doesn’t work anymore, however. Customers might pay $45,000 upfront for a vehicle, then $15 monthly for navigation, $20 monthly for enhanced driver assistance, and $10 monthly for performance features. The hardware sale happens once. Software subscriptions continue for years, maybe the vehicle’s entire lifetime, assuming buyers don’t cancel. Traditional automotive CFOs haven’t calculated customer lifetime value, analyzed subscription churn rates, or evaluated software development ROI because those metrics didn’t exist in their industry five years ago. 

If the software-defined vehicle market projections we discussed earlier hold, recurring software revenue could eventually exceed hardware sales in the automotive industry. Thus, CFOs must learn to value assets that don’t appear on traditional balance sheets: software platforms, customer data, and ongoing revenue streams. They need to understand technology company valuations, SaaS business models, and subscription economics while still managing traditional automotive finance. 

This explains why Ford hired Sherry House as CFO specifically because she brought mobility business experience from Lucid Motors and Waymo. Her background combines automotive knowledge with technology company financial expertise. Expect to see more CFO appointments following this pattern: candidates who understand traditional automotive finance but also bring experience from technology companies, mobility startups, or subscription-based businesses. Companies will increasingly look outside traditional automotive career paths when filling CFO roles because the skills required simply don’t exist in executives who spent their entire careers in the traditional automotive industry.  

What Technical Knowledge Do Automotive CTOs Need in 2026?

Technology chiefs at software companies can push buggy code to production, then patch it the next day. Automotive CTOs don’t get that option. A bug in an entertainment system annoys customers. A bug in brake control software causes catastrophic results. 

Most automotive CTOs came up through IT departments handling enterprise resource planning systems, dealer networks, and factory automation. Those skills don’t translate well to vehicle software architecture. Modern vehicles require integration of infotainment, driver monitoring, sensor systems, and power management into unified computing platforms instead of hundreds of separate control units. 

Rivian’s CEO explained the technical difference this way: traditional cars use “hundreds of little, tiny computers” with separate software for seats, windows, climate control. Software-defined vehicles consolidate all functions into central processors that update remotely. The CTO needs to understand both architectures plus how to migrate from one to the other without creating safety problems. 

In 2026, CTOs will spend more time making build-versus-buy decisions than managing existing systems. General Motors deployed a zonal architecture with Nvidia Thor processors and a “star-network” topology, consolidating hundreds of chips into a handful of powerful computers. Volkswagen invested €12 billion in its Cariad software subsidiary before eventually forming a $5.8 billion joint venture with Rivian to access better software architecture. Ford announced its next-generation EVs launching in 2027 will have fewer ECUs, signaling a shift away from traditional distributed computing. These decisions lock companies into technology paths for five to seven years. Get it wrong and the company spends a decade catching up while competitors iterate on better architectures. 

The harder problem involves cybersecurity, however. Connected vehicles create attack surfaces that didn’t exist when cars were mechanical systems. A successful hack could compromise millions of vehicles simultaneously through over-the-air update systems. CTOs must build security teams, develop threat response protocols, and create redundant systems that keep vehicles operational even if primary networks fail. Traditional automotive executives rarely dealt with malicious actors trying to exploit their products. CTOs in 2026 will need knowledge of cybersecurity, not just manufacturing IT. 

As a result, expect to see more automotive CTO appointments from outside the industry in 2026 too. Companies will hire from technology firms, defense contractors, and aerospace companies where software safety requirements mirror automotive needs. The CTO who spent 20 years optimizing dealer management systems won’t get promoted into vehicle software architecture roles. That career path is closing. 

How Do Automotive CMOs Reach Younger Car Buyers in 2026?

Marketing chiefs built careers understanding baby boomers and Gen X buyers. Those generations bought cars as status symbols, cared about brand heritage, valued horsepower and handling. Gen Z accounts for 25% of the population and behaves completely differently from previous generations. 

Gen Z doesn’t view cars as status symbols the way older buyers do. They care more about digital integration than acceleration and prioritize fuel efficiency over brand prestige. And 76% of Gen Z bought their first vehicle before age 21, far exceeding Millennials at 56%, which means they enter the market earlier but with different priorities and much tighter budgets. 

Vehicle preferences split sharply by generation too, and often in ways that frustrate broad marketing campaigns. Gen Z prefers Honda Civics, Millennials buy Toyota RAV4s, Gen X chooses Ford F-150s. Crossover utility vehicles account for over 50% of new registrations, but younger buyers skew toward smaller, more affordable options while older generations buy larger vehicles. 

Traditional automotive CMOs who rely on mass market advertising and dealer co-op programs can’t deliver the targeted, digital-first campaigns younger buyers expect. They must market to four distinct generations simultaneously, each consuming media differently, preferring different vehicle types, and responding to different messages. A campaign that works for boomers wastes budget reaching Gen Z audiences. CMOs in 2026 will need backgrounds in digital marketing, influencer partnerships, and data analytics more than traditional broadcast advertising experience. 

How Will Factory Automation Change Automotive COO Responsibilities in 2026? 

Traditional automotive Chief Operating Officers built expertise handling just-in-time inventory, optimizing factory efficiency, and coordinating with suppliers. They knew how to balance production schedules against demand forecasts, maintain quality across manufacturing facilities, and minimize inventory costs. 

Those traditional skills now represent baseline requirements. In 2026, COOs must manage operations where robots and humans work side by side, where AI systems predict equipment failures before they happen, and where connected factory equipment communicates through Industrial Internet of Things networks to optimize production in real time. 

BMW’s iFACTORY program demonstrates what modern automotive operations look like. The company deployed industrial 5G networks, over 1,000 robots, and AI-powered quality control systems at its Debrecen plant in Hungary. BMW’s AIQX platform uses cameras, acoustic sensors, and microphones positioned along production lines to conduct automated quality inspections. Modern AI vision systems achieve detection rates above 99%, significantly outperforming human inspectors who typically achieve 95% accuracy. 

COOs who don’t understand these technologies can’t make informed decisions about capital investments that will define factory capabilities for the next two decades. Should the company invest in flexible automation that handles multiple vehicle platforms, or dedicated lines that produce one model more efficiently? Deploy collaborative robots that cost less but move slower, or industrial robots that require safety infrastructure but increase throughput? Build centralized data systems that optimize across facilities, or local systems that respond faster but can’t share insights? Each choice involves technology assessments most traditional COOs never needed to make. 

The COO role in 2026 requires expertise in both traditional manufacturing operations and advanced factory technology. Executives need to understand quality control and supply chain logistics while also managing automation strategy and operational data systems. Companies that try to find one person with expertise in both mechanical production and advanced technology systems will either pay a premium or face a lengthy search. The talent pool is incredibly new and small. This is where executive search firms provide real value: they can help you make a faster hire than you could on your own by knowing which adjacent industries produce candidates with the right hybrid skills. 

Where Can Companies Find Leading Automotive Executives?

Traditional automotive experience remains essential. You can’t run a car company without understanding safety regulations, production realities, and dealer relationships. But some C-suite roles now need more. CFOs must value software platforms and recurring revenue. CTOs need cybersecurity backgrounds. COOs must evaluate robotics investments. 

Most executive search firms focus exclusively on automotive networks. That works well for many positions. It’s less effective when you need a CFO who understands SaaS business models, a CTO from aerospace who knows safety-critical software, or a COO who can evaluate AI-powered manufacturing systems. 

Stanton Chase has experienced consultants who previously worked in defense, technology, industrial automation, and other industries where these skills developed. They understand which professionals can successfully transition into automotive leadership because they worked in those sectors themselves. That matters more in 2026 than in 2025, and will only become more important as the automotive industry continues to evolve. 

About the Author

Rich Kolpasky is Managing Director at Stanton Chase Detroit and Global Subsector Leader for Automotive. Before his career in executive search, he served as President of two Tier I automotive suppliers, TI Automotive and Faurecia SA, with P&L responsibility for operations exceeding $1.2 billion across global markets. His earlier career includes management consulting at Booz-Allen & Hamilton supporting defense clients, and service as a commissioned officer in the United States Army. Rich holds a mechanical engineering degree from West Point and an MBA from Michigan State University.