Herbert Diess (born 24 October 1958) is an Austrian businessman, the former (2018-2022) chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen Group, he also held the position of chairman of the board of management for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand.^[2]

As the CEO of Volkswagen Group, Herbert Diess was prosecuted, along with Hans Dieter Pötsch, the chairman of the supervisory board of Volkswagen, on September 24, 2019, for the manipulation of Volkswagen's diesel emissions. Executives were charged with withholding information from shareholders about the huge financial implications due to the scandal, which gained much media attention. German law requires top executives to inform shareholders about significant financial risks and issues. This follows after the investigation finding that Volkswagen's rigged millions of diesel cars worldwide to cheat on emissions tests, which led the company to lose over $30 billion. As a result of the spurious information, the stocks plummeted almost 40 per cent. However Volkswagen defended themselves: "The company has meticulously investigated this matter with the help of internal and external legal experts for almost four years ... the result is clear: the allegations are groundless."^[11] This claim is offered despite the fact that Oliver Schmidt (engineer), a VW executive was convicted in the US over the matter and sentenced to seven years imprisonment.