Author: Ralph Morton
Skoda has a new boss in the form of Alasdair Stewart.
Alasdair, who succeeds Robert Hazelwood, will take over as Skoda brand director from the beginning of May 2012.
The move is part of the musical chairs going on at the Volkswagen Group in the UK at the moment since Chris Craft – former Volkswagen director – was appointed managing director of Porsche Cars in Great Britain. In his place, Robert Hazlewood moved from director of Skoda to the same position at Volkswagen
Alasdair is currently the member of the board at Bentley Motors for sales, marketing and aftersales with over 22 years of experience in the automotive industry. Having joined the Volkswagen Group in 1998, he has held several roles with both Bentley and Bugatti. These include five years as president and ceo of Bentley Motor Cars in the US where he was responsible for building Bentley’s strong presence in North America. Returning to Europe, Alasdair was appointed as sales, marketing and customer service director for Bugatti in 2005, before joining Bentley in 2010.
In other business car news, Kevin Rose – a former director of Audi – will succeed Alasdair at Bentley.
“The UK market is a cornerstone for our Skoda growth strategy. We are very pleased to be hiring Alasdair Stewart,” said Jürgen Stackmann, Skoda board member for sales and marketing. “Alasdair is a top automobile manager with many years of experience and an extensive knowledge of the UK market.”
Simon Thomas, managing director of the Volkswagen Group in the UK, added: “I am pleased to welcome Alasdair to Volkswagen Group UK. His international experience will add to the strengths of our management team. I’m sure that Alasdair is looking forward to leading Skoda as it continues to grow in the UK.”