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The official New Lotus CEO press release
[SIZE=3]LOTUS HOLDINGS, INC. NAMES JOHN A. ENGLISH[/SIZE]
DULUTH, GA - May 11, 2004 – Lotus Holdings, Inc. the U.S. based holding company for
Lotus Cars USA and Lotus Engineering Inc., has named automotive industry veteran John A. English as President and Chief Executive Officer, Lotus Cars USA. The appointment, effective immediately, was announced by Duke T. Hale, Chief Executive Officer, Lotus Holdings Inc.
“John’s expertise in leading organizations during strong growth phases and hisexperience in building highly motivated and effective sales organizations make him a tremendous asset to our U.S. team,” said Hale. “With the 2005 Lotus Elise on-sale date just weeks away, and enthusiasm for the car increasing with each passing day, John is the right individual to ensure that our organization is fully prepared deliver superior dealer and customer experiences on all fronts.” said Hale.
English has worked within the automotive industry his entire career. Most recently, he was the Southeast Regional General Manager for Mazda North America, based in Jacksonville, Florida. Prior to that, he served as Vice President, Sales Operations, at Mazda’s U.S. headquarters in Irvine, California. During that time, English developed business and dealer network initiatives designed to maximize sales per retail outlet. He joined Mazda in 1991 as Director, Dealer Development, followed by a promotion to Regional Vice President for the company’s top-ranked Southeast region.
Prior to his 12-year career at Mazda, English spent 15 years at Volvo North America, where he served as Regional Manager of the Southeast Region in Atlanta, and prior to that as Regional Manager of the company’s Northern California Region. He also held marketing, market representation and District Manager positions while at Volvo. English began his automotive career at Chrysler Corporation, where he completed the company’s graduate training program, followed by a number of District Manager positions in key U.S. markets.
“It is a rare and exceptional opportunity to lead one of the world’s great sports car brands in the world’s most dynamic sports car market,” said English. “It is even rarer to join a team that is as proud and passionate about their products as Lotus—I very much look forward to being part of that team.”
English received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of New Haven, Connecticut in 1971, following two years of service within the United States Army Special Forces. He will relocate to Atlanta, Georgia.
About Lotus Cars
Lotus is one of the world’s best-known British performance brands with a reputation for innovation and success through a steady stream of winning racing cars and memorable sports cars. The first Lotus car was built in 1948 by founder Colin Chapman (1928-1982) and Lotus went on to win at the highest levels of motorsport including seven Formula One World Championships, Indy 500, Le Mans and the World Rally Championships.
Today, the main operating subsidiary of the parent company Group Lotus PLC is Lotus Cars Ltd which has two operating divisions - Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering: Lotus Cars builds and markets Lotus sports cars, the Elise and Esprit.
Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive and versatile consultancy services to many of the world’s OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, offering a full engineering service from initial concept and project design through development to full production prototype build.
Lotus Engineering is continually developing new products and technology through investment in research that will remain a vital element of the company’s future strategy. For example, Lotus Engineering made a significant technical contribution to the engines of approximately 10% of new cars sold in Europe this year. It has also developed highly advanced technologies in lightweight high performance vehicle engineering for clients, whose high-profile products are now in production. Lotus involvement in many of these projects is, and will remain, confidential.
The Group provides specific expertise in the design, development and manufacture of niche products. Lotus is manufacturing the new Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220 model for General Motors.
Group Lotus PLC is headquartered at Hethel, in Norfolk, England. Lotus Cars USA is the exclusive U.S. importer and distributor of Lotus cars. Lotus Holdings, Inc., of which Lotus Cars USA is a business unit, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Group Lotus PLC. The company is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.
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Lotus Cars USA Press Release
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