NAA Member News: Adrian Hallmark Appointed Chairman and CEO Of Bentley Motors
Bentley Motors has announced the appointment of Adrian Hallmark as its new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, starting on 1st February 2018…
Hallmark’s appointment marks one of four senior leadership changes at Bentley Motors with new Board Members for Engineering; Sales and Marketing; and People, Digitalisation and IT.
Hallmark, 55, joins Bentley from Jaguar Land Rover, where he held the role of Global Strategy Director. He brings more than 18 years of automotive board level experience from the US, Europe and Asia with Porsche, Volkswagen, SAAB and Bentley Motors. During his time at Bentley, he held the role of Board Member for Sales, Marketing and PR and played an integral role in the introduction of the sector-defining Continental GT in 2003.
Commenting on the new appointment, Matthias Müller, Chief Executive Officer of the Volkswagen Group, said: “I am delighted to welcome Adrian Hallmark back to the Volkswagen Group, and back to Bentley Motors. He brings a wealth of international automotive experience coupled with a deep understanding of the Bentley brand and I am confident he will lead this extraordinary British company to even greater success.”
Hallmark succeeds Wolfgang Dürheimer, 59, who will continue to take a key role advising Volkswagen Group motorsport.
Commenting on Dürheimer’s contribution to the Group, Müller continues: “I would like to thank Wolfgang Dürheimer for his dedication to Bentley Motors and the Volkswagen Group. He has had an outstanding career and has launched some of the most important cars the Group has ever created, including two generations of the Porsche 911, the Porsche Carrera GT, Porsche Panamera, Porsche Cayenne, Bugatti Chiron, the Bentley Bentayga as well as the all-new Bentley Continental GT. I am pleased that we will continue to benefit from his extensive motorsport experience as he maintains an advisory role on motorsport to the Volkswagen Group.”
In other key appointments, Dr. Werner Tietz, 54, will become Member of the Board for Engineering, joining from Porsche where he held the role of Vice President Body & Trim Engineering. In his seven years at Porsche, he played a leading role in the current Panamera and the 911 models. Before this time, Tietz spent 18 years with Audi in senior engineering roles, most recently as Head of Interior Development.
Tietz succeeds Rolf Frech, 60, who guided the Engineering team for six years. During this time, Bentley developed the world’s first true luxury SUV, the Bentley Bentayga and more recently the all-new Bentley Continental GT. With the successful Continental GT3, he also brought Bentley back into motorsport.
Chris Craft, 58, becomes Board Member for Sales and Marketing, succeeding Dr. Andreas Offermann, 60. Offermann has enhanced the dealer network, accelerated new luxury mobility services and overseen Bentley’s record sales year. Prior to this appointment, Craft led Porsche Great Britain as Managing Director. Before this, he was Director of Volkswagen UK, Director of Skoda UK and has also held senior management roles during his 24 year career with the Volkswagen Group.
Dr. Astrid Fontaine, 48, previously Vice President of Human Resources, Culture and Innovation at Porsche North America, will become Member of the Board for People, Digitalisation and IT. Fontaine has held a number of strategic management positions for Mercedes-Benz and has also served as a Professor at leading universities in China and the USA, working in the field of Strategy and Digitalisation, following her Ph.D. in Information Systems. She follows Marlies Rogait, 60, who has spent three years at Bentley, where she was instrumental in the growth of skills and development, in maintaining Bentley’s status as a Top Employer and the successful implementation of the Bentley-supported Crewe Engineering and Design University Technical College.
Concluding, Matthias Müller, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the significant part that Rolf Frech, Dr. Andreas Offermann and Marlies Rogait have played in the ongoing success of Bentley Motors and I wish them well for the future.
“With the introduction of the Bentayga, the all-new Continental GT and the next generation of Bentley products secured, the brand today is in a very strong position for the new leadership team to take Bentley Motors to new heights.”
