BERLIN (AP) — Volkswagen says its chief financial officer, Hans Dieter Poetsch, is set to become its new chairman — filling the position that longtime company patriarch Ferdinand Piech vacated in April.

The automaker said Thursday that the 64-year-old Poetsch will be proposed for election to its supervisory board at an extraordinary general meeting in November.

Berthold Huber, the acting chairman and previously Piech's deputy, praised Poetsch's "strategic vision, comprehensive knowledge of the automotive industry and considerable expertise in the financial markets."

Piech resigned in April after losing a power struggle with CEO Martin Winterkorn. He said in an interview that he was "at a distance" from Winterkorn, but the CEO obtained support from other board members. On Wednesday, the company said it plans to extend Winterkorn's contract by two years until 2018.