The Brit List 2015: UK's top car industry execs named ~ station of gear

We count down the 50 top British executives in the global car industry

2015-06-17 00:01

Welcome to the Auto Express Brit List 2015, our fourth annual rundown of the most influential British executives working in the global car industry today.

While the UK car business has rarely been in ruder health with sales and output continuing to rise, there are also more Brits in top jobs in the car industry than ever before. As well as those running the companies, there are designers, engineers, marketeers, financial experts and manufacturing bosses on our list, plus top names from motorsport, where the UK still excels.

• Best new car deals 2015

As in previous years, our team of judges has assessed each individual’s current position and company performance over the past 12 months to come up with our Top 50. And as usual, previous winners Andy Palmer, now at Aston Martin, BMW’s Ian Robertson and Ford’s Steve Odell are all ineligible.

This year the 11 new entries, plus the number of talented people who didn’t make the top 50, show there’s plenty of depth of talent among the Brits. The car industry is working hard to show young people what a great place it can be to build a career – as all those in this year’s Top 50 would no doubt agree.

Scroll down for the top ten in detail, with the full list available on the next page.

10: Paul Willcox

Image 2 of 11

Nissan Europe, chairman

Willcox had a turbulent path to his current job. Nearly two years ago he left Nissan, where he was vice president in charge of European sales, to become VW’s UK managing director. But he’d barely settled into his new office before he was back at Nissan as chairman for Europe. His role is focused on tightening up the brand’s operational performance Continent-wide and on beating rivals from Japan and Asia. He reports to another Brit, chief performance officer Trevor Mann.

9: Kevin Rose

Image 3 of 11

Bentley, sales and marketing director

Rose brings three clear things to Bentley, and they’re things the brand values. For one, he’s overseen a sales drive that has seen the number of Bentleys rolling out of Crewe double. Secondly, VW trusts his judgement on what a Bentley should look like – his insight was pivotal in the SUV being signed off. And thirdly, he brings some British calm to this most British of brands. Rose has worked across the group, but it’s at Bentley that he’s exercising his greatest influence.

8: Linda Jackson

Image 4 of 11

Citroen, CEO

Jackson had only just been promoted into her new job when we put together last year’s list, which is why she was in 39th place. The past 12 months, though, have seen her settle into her new role with aplomb. The C4 Cactus, which was launched just as she started her new job, has delivered awards and publicity. After plenty of poor years for Citroen, she says she now wants the “feelgood factor” to return, and is promising new models, and new ways of paying, too.

7: Adrian Hallmark

Image 5 of 11

JLR, group strategy director

When you’ve enjoyed the sort of success that has come JLR’s way in recent years, the trick is knowing how to keep the momentum going. That’s the challenge Hallmark faces in the coming 12 months. At 52, he’s worked for Porsche, Bentley and VW in the past, but his role now is develop JLR’s strategy for the next few years, including the growing range of models and the question of whether Land Rover can, and should, keep going upmarket.

6: John Fleming

Image 6 of 11

Ford, executive vice president, global manufacturing & labor

A familiar name on this list and a great example of how the industry can allow people to work their way up from shop floor to boardroom. Fleming started as a worker at Halewood but proved an adept leader and progressed from running that plant to running Ford across Europe, before moving to Detroit. He oversees Ford’s manufacturing process all over the world, taking in 75 different factories. Fleming also oversees labour relations – a crucial role for a global manufacturer.

5: Ian Callum

Image 7 of 11

Jaguar, director of design

A storming year for the UK’s best known car designer, and the highest placed one on our list. Callum is the driving force behind Jaguar’s styling, and has been busy dealing with the XE, XF, F-Type and the forthcoming F-Pace – a stellar roster that’s pushed him into our top five. It’s a testament to his success that the acclaim goes beyond his own industry, with Callum winning the UK’s Designer of the Year Award ahead of the boss of international fashion brand Burberry.

4: Trevor Mann

Image 8 of 11

Nissan, chief performance officer

Another to have built a long career with the same company, Mann, 54, has gone from being one of the first employees on the shop floor at Nissan’s Sunderland factory, to running the plant, to more senior management roles. He’s overseen the European operation and now takes on a senior global role – an impressive effort in any car company, but particularly notable at a Japanese firm. He’s been given the intriguing challenge of how to reinvent Datsun in emerging markets.

3: Duncan Aldred

Image 9 of 11

GM, vice president, Buick & GMC

Aldred, 45, has spent his whole career with GM, but it’s not been a quiet life. Although still only in his mid-40s, he’s already done his time as managing director of Vauxhall in the UK, where he revitalised the factories at Ellesmere Port and Luton, and also on mainland Europe, where he got Opel going again. He takes plenty of credit for Vauxhall’s healthy sales in the UK and his reward has been a place at GM’s top table, heading up GMC and Buick in the US.

2. Mike Manley

Image 10 of 11

Jeep, president and CEO

There are few tougher jobs in the car world than running Jeep. Not because it’s struggling, but because you have to answer to formidable Fiat Group chief executive Sergio Marchionne. Last year Marchionne came up with a nice round target for Manley – sell a million Jeeps in 2014. He got across the line (by a margin of 17,000) thanks to increasing sales by a spectacular 39 per cent. Manley has been running Jeep since 2009, and sales have risen each year.

1. Alan Batey

Image 11 of 11

GM, executive vice president, president North America

It’s been a generally pretty horrible year for General Motors, with huge numbers of recalls and evidence that the company had ignored warnings about failing components. For many in the business, it’s been a bruising experience, but for Batey, a former Vauxhall apprentice, it’s been a chance to show that he doesn’t so much cope with problems as thrive under pressure.

As the man in charge of the company’s North American operation, he’s been at the very forefront of the GM recovery and is one of chief executive Mary Barra’s most trusted lieutenants. If things had gone badly over the past 12 months, GM could have collapsed; instead, under Batey’s guidance, the American public has returned to its dealerships to buy GM cars in huge numbers.

That alone is a pretty remarkable feat, with the company expecting 10 million sales in 2015 – which would be a new record. Batey’s responsibilities don’t stop there, though. He’s also global president of the Chevrolet brand, which is proving an international hit.

Its biggest success is the Cruze, which is sold in 115 countries and has so far racked up 3.5 million sales and done two crucial things – sell well in China, and bring in customers who’ve never bought a Chevy before. Batey, a man with more than 30 years on the GM payroll, was also a key figure in Chevrolet’s decision to sponsor Manchester United, bringing the name to football fans around the world. A global decision made by a man with a truly global presence.

Click through to the next page for this year’s top 50, who they are and what they do...

The Brit List 2015: top 50

1. Alan Batey
Executive Vice President and President of North America, GM

2. Mike Manley
President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeep

3. Duncan Aldred
U.S. Vice President of Buick-GMC

4. Trevor Mann
Chief Performance Officer, Nissan

5. Ian Callum
Director of Design, Jaguar

6. John Fleming
Executive Vice President, Global Manufacturing and Labor, Ford

7. Adrian Hallmark
Group Strategy Director, JLR

8. Linda Jackson
CEO, Citroen Brand

9. Kevin Rose
Sales and Marketing Director, Bentley

10. Paul Willcox
Chairman, Nissan Europe

11. Mark Adams
Vice President, Opel/Vauxhall Design

12. Nick Rogers
Director Group Engineering, JLR

13. Allan Rushforth
Vice President for Global Sales, Nissan

14. Gerry McGovern
Design Director, Land Rover

15. Ron Dennis
Chairman McLaren Group & Automotive, McLaren

16. Mark Ovenden
President & CEO, Ford Sollers

17. Mike O’Driscoll
Group CEO Williams F1 Team

18. Moray Callum
Vice President, Design, Ford

19. Julian Blissett
Executive Vice President of Shanghai GM

20. Joe Bakaj
Vice president, Product Development, Ford of Europe

21. Steven Armstrong
Vice President, Ford Motor Company, and President, Ford South America

22. Graham Hoare
Director of Global Vehicle Evaluation and Verification, Ford

23. Andy Cowell
Managing Director, Mercedes AMG High Performance

24. Andy Goss
Global Operations Director, JLR

25. Simon Sproule
Chief Marketing Offier, Aston Martin

26. Michael Cole
Chief Operating Officer, Kia Motor Europe

27. Fiona Pargeter
Head of Global PR Communications, JLR

28. Tim Tozer
Chairman and MD, Vauxhall

29. Jon Goodman
Senior Vice President Corporate Communications, Volvo

30. Mark Lloyd
Design Programme Director, Citroen

31. Christian Horner
Infiniti Red Bull Racing, Team Principal

32. Marek Reichmann
Design Director, Aston Martin Lagonda

33. Chris Porritt
Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, Tesla

34. Tim Zimmerman
President, South East Asia Region, GM

35. John Edwards
Managing Director, Special Operations, JLR

36. Bernie Ecclestone
Chief Executive, F1 Group

37. Peter Thom
Vice President Manufacturing, GM Europe

38. Andrew Reynolds Smith
Chief Executive Automotive, GKN

39. Peter Horbury
Head of Design, Geeley

40. Richard Palmer
Chief Financial Officer, FCA

41. Tony Laydon
Corporate Vice President, Supply Chain, Nissan

42. Gary Savage
CEO and MD, Mercedes-Benz UK

43. Paul Willis
MD, VW Group UK

44. Mark Sutcliffe
Vice President, Supply Chain Management, Renault-Nissan

45. Stephen Norman
Vice President, Group Marketing Coordination, PSA Peugeot Citroen

46. Mike Hawes
Chief Executive, SMMT

47. Philip Ross
Senior Vice President Sales, Honda Motor Europe

48. Ian Howells
Senior Vice President, Honda Motor Europe

49. Claire Williams
Deputy Team Principal, Williams F1 Team

50. Darren Cox
Global Motorsport Director, Nissan/NISMO

The Auto Express hall of fame

2012 - Andy Palmer

Our first Brit List winner stunned the car world last year when he left Nissan to become CEO at Aston Martin. He hasn’t wasted time making his mark, giving the British sports car maker a new sense of direction and excitement that it had been missing. There are great times ahead for Aston with Palmer at the helm.

2013 - Ian Robertson

BMW’s sales jumped 7.9 per cent in 2014 to more than two million vehicles, thanks in no small part to our 2013 Brit List winner Ian Robertson. He’s the only Brit on the board of BMW with responsibility for sales and marketing, but his influence stretches much further – he’s been the driving force behind BMW’s successful i programme.

2014 - Steve Odell

This time last year Odell was running Ford of Europe, but he’s now in Detroit heading up Ford’s global sales, marketing and service team. After transforming the European business, he’s now charged with revitalising the Ford and Lincoln brands across the world – some way from his first role at Ford as a graduate trainee.

Thank you for reading the article about The Brit List 2015: UK's top car industry execs named in blog station of gear If this article was helpful please bookmark this page in your web browser by pressing Ctrl + D on your keyboard keys.