Proton
Holdings Berhad (“Proton”) has announced the appointment of Jean-Marc Gales as
the new Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus plc, effective May 1, 2014.
Lotus is a wholly owned subsidiary of Proton and a member of the DRB-Hicom Group.
Gales,
a Luxembourgian, holds a MSc in Management from London's Imperial College, and
a MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany.
A known industry player, Gales has held
several significant positions with numerous global automotive manufacturers.
Prior to his new appointment at Lotus, Gales was Chief Executive Officer of the
European Association of Automotive Suppliers (“CLEPA”) since 2012, where he
played a key role in turning around the association through various strategic
initiatives, including streamlining the working processes and increasing
corporate members from 82 to 112. Gales also established a lobbying strategy
with the European Parliament and European Commission, and helped define the
Industry Research & Innovation Strategy and Roadmap for 2025.
Before
joining CLEPA, Gales was the President of Automobiles Citroen and Automobiles
Peugeot between 2009 and 2012, where he restructured the entire sales value
chain and implemented a new brand strategy for the DS Line and introduced the
Citroen DS in major markets around the world. During his tenure there, the
Company delivered record retail sales in 2009 and 2010.
Gales'
other previous appointments include several senior positions in Daimler AG,
General Motors and Volkswagen AG.
Aslam
Farikullah, current Chief Operating Officer of Group Lotus plc, remains as
Member of the Board of Lotus Cars Limited and will continue to contribute to
the growth of the business in the future.
Source: Proton /
Picture: Jean-Marc Gales (Left), the new
CEO of Lotus with Proton Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Abdul Harith Abdullah.