Source: AFP
British luxury car brand Aston Martin Lagonda on Friday said Adrian Hallmark will become its chief executive, poaching him from Germany’s Bentley, where he stepped down as chief executive.
Hallmark, 61, will take the helm of Aston Martin until October 1, replacing Italian national Amedeo Felisa, who has helped run the brand since May 2022.
The Briton will be the fourth chief executive in as many years at Aston, a favorite of fictional British spy James Bond.
“When Amedeo was appointed CEO, I spoke of him leading a new phase of growth and development,” chairman Lawrence Stroll said of the current Aston boss.
“Two years on, we have delivered on that promise as we move closer to completing our exciting new product portfolio and moving closer to our vision of becoming the most desirable, ultra-luxury British performance brand in the world,” he added in a company statement on Friday. .
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Felisa, 77, said he was “incredibly proud of the progress made over the last two years, which has aligned Aston Martin for a positive future direction”.
“I believe now is the right time to allow the company to transition to new leadership,” he added in the statement.
Former CEO of Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari, Felisa will remain at the helm to enable a smooth transition.
Aston Martin said Hallmark “brings more than 25 years of highly successful premium automotive experience from the US, Europe and Asia with companies such as Bentley, Porsche and Volkswagen”.
Stroll described Hallmark as “one of the top leaders not only in our segment, but in the entire global automotive industry.”
Volkswagen-owned Bentley said in a separate statement that Hallmark had also decided to step down as chairman “at his request and by mutual consent”, adding that a search for a successor had begun.
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In line with current industry trends, Aston Martin is promoting the electrification of its cars, with an investment of around 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) over the next few years.
Friday’s announcement comes after Aston Martin halved annual losses in 2023 as average model prices hit record highs.
Pre-tax losses came in at £240m last year, while revenue rose by almost a fifth to £1.6bn.
Source: AFP