The Gentleman Magazine Issue 6 | December 2017 | Page 34

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.
DRIAN HALLMARK APPOINTED CHAIRMAN
AND CEO FOR BENTLEY MOTORS
THREE NEW BOARD LEVEL APPOINTMENTS
MADE AS BENTLEY GAINS NEW LEADERSHIP
TEAM
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.”
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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.”
, Security in Motion”