The global automotive industry values top-shelf achievements
from executives seasoned by age and experience, and the best evidence of that
propensity is the outstanding career of American Bob Lutz, who has only
recently retired – although I suspect that means just from a mainstream role.
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Bob Lutz |
I am fortunate to be able to call Bob Lutz a friend, and
knowing him as I do, he is still exerting influence, and counseling colleagues
from his bolthole near Ann Arbor ,
Michigan .
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Mark Fields |
However, there are some young upstarts about who stand tall – like Mark Fields, who is tipped to take the top job at Ford Motor,
when Alan Mulally steps down.
Another very bright young automotive exec is Brit, Alasdair Stewart, who
has been handed some big challenges in his 12-year career with the Volkswagen
group.
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Alasdair Stewart |
I first met Alasdair when he was named President of Bentley
Motors North America in 1998, shortly after Ferdinand Piech swooped on the
British luxury car company.
That year Bentley sold just 330 cars in North America, but
by 2005 Bentley sales topped 3700 cars, after Alasdair’s team had spent the
previous nine years chopping-out the poor-performing dealers, signing up more
energetic retailers, trimming and refining the model line, and promoting the marque heavily
with some innovative marketing and public relations programs.
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Alasdair presenting Ralph Lauren with a bespoke Bentley Arnage |
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Meeting the US auto media at Sardi's, NYC |
Ferdinand Piech's 'Baby' - the Bugatti Veyron |
Taking the challenge in his stride Alasdair Stewart applied
his American market savvy, and some shrewd marketing and PR tactics to move a
number of the 1000hp sportscars to new owners in the USA, and then began
developing limited editions of the Veyron to increase the appeal of the last
cars off the production line.
Alasdair Stewart with Limited Edition Veyron Super Sport |
One of the most inspired creations was the Veyron Super Sport,
which was revealed at the annual auto spectacular at ‘The Quail – A Motorsports
Gathering’ in 2009, at Carmel Valley’s prestigious Quail Lodge.
Following success selling off the last of the
Veyrons,
Bentley Motors Chairman, Ing. Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen appointed
Alasdair to the Board of Bentley Motors, in charge of Sales & Marketing at a
critical time when Paefgen had been forced to fire the ineffective incumbent.
It was the post-GFC era and all luxury car sales were in the
toilet, so Alasdair was again thrust into the spotlight to ‘move some metal’
and fortunately, both the Chinese
market was about to lift-off, and American buyers had decided it was safe to
come outdoors again and spend some of the cash they had squirreled away, on a
new Bentley or two.
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Alasdair Stewart at the 2011 Salon Internationale d'Auto, Geneve |
All this frenzied global marketing can take a toll on family
life, so Alasdair decided to vacate the rarefied air of the global luxury car
market and settle on a domestic challenge back home in Britain,
becoming head of Skoda UK .
Leading the Skoda UK team 2014 |
The Czech brand has done reasonably well since being
acquired by Volkswagen AG, and it has spent its limited marketing budgets
wisely in a number of countries, by focusing on them one at a time and
fine-tuning the available Skoda models for specific markets.
In Australia
this macro approach, paid off and the marque is steadily moving its sales north,
towards its relatively humble target.
In the UK ,
Alasdair Stewart and his team have done the same thing, but the larger British
market has delivered very impressive results as this graph shows, from 2011
when Alasdair took over the British division of Skoda.
Not yet 50, Alasdair Stewart can look back on a good track
record, achieved by tackling some daunting sales challenges across a wide range
of brands.
However, he’d be the first to tell you that his most
important learnings came from time spent ‘on the ground’ in a variety of
markets where the biggest benefits came from constant communication with
dealers, and sampling, testing, shaping and fine-tuning ideas and initiatives
for success.
Success has also been boosted by tapping into impeccable high level connections with people like Lord March, the Goodwood owner and impresario.
Lord March with Alasdair, Geneva 2014 |
Plus great photo ops with stars like Jay Leno and former Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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At Pebble Beach with Arnie and Jay Leno |
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