Duesmann began his career as an engineer at
Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart. Later he moved to the development service provider FEV in Aachen. There he headed the engine division. In 2004, Duesmann returned to Stuttgart to
DaimlerChrysler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz. In 2005 he became head of development for the F1 engines at
McLaren-Mercedes. At the beginning of 2007, Duesmann joined the
BMW Group. There he was initially responsible for engine development for the
BMW Sauber F1 team. He then worked his way into BMW's series production development. In 2016, Duesmann was appointed to the Board of Management of the BMW Group. Under his leadership, the company signed a billion-dollar collaboration with
CATL. In 2020, Duesmann was appointed to the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group. The same year, he became Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi, which is part of the Volkswagen Group. Duesmann's main task was realigning the company after the diesel scandal. He called for a faster transition to
battery electric vehicles (BEV) and set a definite end date for the production of
ICE models at Audi. In 2022, he announced Audi's entry into
Formula One starting 2026. Duesmann left the company in 2023. He was succeeded by
Gernot Döllner as Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi. == Other boards ==