A familiar face in Porsche town is back, and he’s been appointed to lead the company and turn the iconic brand’s recent struggles around.

Dr. Michael Leiters has been lined up to serve as the new Porsche CEO, succeeding Dr. Oliver Blume who is stepping down from the role but will continue serving as the CEO of the Volkswagen Group.

The 54-year old German engineer that’s set to lead Porsche by January 1, 2026 has quite the resume. Leiters has been CEO of McLaren Automotive from July 2022 until April 2025, leading the launch of the 750S and the Artura hybrid which hoped to revitalize the struggling British brand.

Before that, Leiters also previously served as CTO for Ferrari for more than eight years, spearheading the development of several key models such as the 296 GTB, the SF90 and the Purosangue. But what led him to those senior executive roles were his product development work with the Porsche brand itself.

Leiters spent 13 years with Porsche from 2000 until 2013, playing an important role in the development of the marque's Cayenne and Macan SUVs that basically ensured the survival of the brand and the 911 sports car.

Now, Leiters has been called back to Stuttgart as the once-most profitable company in the Volkswagen Group fell vulnerable to market instability. His expertise with the world’s top performance car brands is a bid by Porsche to improve its performance amidst weak demand in China, rising export tariffs in the US, and the costly reversal of product strategies from full electric to internal combustion.

Let’s see Porsche can get back on track under the leadership of Leiters, and do an automotive equivalent of the saying “love is sweeter the second time around” with this one.