Former PSA head Jean-Marc Gales now Lotus CEO

Jean-Marc Gales_CEO of Group Lotus plc and Aslam Farikullah 01_05_14_20p (3)

Jean-Marc Gales and Aslam Farikullah

Just two days after Datuk Abdul Harith Abdullah was announced as Proton’s new chief executive officer, the company has now made official the appointment of Jean-Marc Gales as Group Lotus’ new CEO, who assumed position effective yesterday, May 1. The post had been vacant since Dany Bahar was dismissed from the company in 2012.

Gales, a 51-year-old from Luxembourg, joins Lotus from the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), where he had been CEO since 2012. There, he was credited with turning the association around, initiating a lobbying strategy with the European Parliament and the European Commission as well as helping to define the Industry Research & Innovation Strategy and Roadmap for 2025.

Prior to CLEPA, he was made president of both Automobiles Peugeot and Automobiles Citroen in 2009, where he restructured the entire sales value chain and pushed a new brand strategy for Citroen’s DS line. During his tenure, the company delivered record retail sales in 2009 and 2010. Gales also previously held senior posts at Daimler, General Motors, Fiat and Volkswagen.

lotus-dany-bahar

Dany Bahar was the previous Group Lotus CEO before being sacked in 2012

Gales holds a Master’s degree in management from the Imperial College in London, as well as a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany.

Aslam Farikullah, who had been running the company as chief operating officer since the Bahar sacking, remains a member of the board of Lotus Cars.

Harith welcomed Gales to the Group, saying, “This is an exciting time for Lotus, and Jean-Marc’s appointment could not have come at a more appropriate time, especially taking into account our plans for Lotus. We believe that with his strong technical and managerial expertise and leadership, Jean-Marc will be able to drive the Lotus transformation plan and further enhance Lotus’ business and capabilities.”

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Jonathan Lee

After trying to pursue a career in product design, Jonathan Lee decided to make the sideways jump into the world of car journalism instead. He therefore appreciates the aesthetic appeal of a car, but for him, the driving experience is still second to none.

 

Comments

  • Motorhead (Member) on May 02, 2014 at 6:32 pm

    Rebadge lotus..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 14
    • alldisc on May 02, 2014 at 9:13 pm

      Does he even realize that lotus is owned by a company which was taken over by several companies due to inabilities to survive on its own? I lost count already… Hicom, drb, petronas, khazanah….syed mokhtar group. Ahh…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 20 Thumb down 25
      • InisalahItusalah on May 03, 2014 at 12:15 am

        DRB is owned by Syed Mokhtar .. anyway juz give them a break.. even proton has the biggest share in Lotus but they are managed by different management.. like 2 different separate individual

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 22 Thumb down 8
        • Henry on May 03, 2014 at 7:44 am

          As long as the pay and perks are very good he couldn’t care less. Two years, three years later he either resigns or gets sacked but much richer.

          Lotus is being bailed out by Proton. Who will bail out Proton? You know the answer.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 7
          • that’s your mentality, henry. For Outsider’s mentality, they have pride in what they’re doing rather than looking at money only.

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 2
        • That is because proton has no idea how to manage it!

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 8
        • alldisc on May 05, 2014 at 8:08 am

          Only recently syed mokhtar ownes drb group. Previously no.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
      • Motorhead (Member) on May 03, 2014 at 7:48 am

        It’s ailing company & ailing owner. . Just take away the price rebadge & sell it cheap here.. may make some sales & business. . Or else.. just go & die.. car business is very2 competitive now.. hot hatchs steal the market… CRZ for instance are everywhere. Very cheap also previous years.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 10
    • rotten fish head on May 03, 2014 at 8:39 am

      Good luck to the new Lotus CEO…
      – can he settle the RM1 Billion bank loans?
      – can he get rid of the chronic crony mentality??

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 4
      • Henry on May 03, 2014 at 3:23 pm

        The volume is so low. Can he increase sales a hundred times? I don’t think so. So Lotus can continue to bleed and drag Proton down with it.

        Heck, even Proton itself is not selling enough. How can it continue to giving Lotus “blood transfusion?”

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 4
    • HAMEED KOYAKUTTY on May 03, 2014 at 3:32 pm

      Good luck la bro…..

      The Brits is so anti French and u put one to Head them??? Bye bye la Lotus…..

      Cynical as to appoint a Jap to head Cherry???

      To put a Paki to lead India???

      Or to pick a Chinese to be Msian PM???

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 20
      • Lon Jee on May 03, 2014 at 10:24 pm

        1) He’s a Luxomburger, not French.

        2) Carlos Ghosn, a Lebanese-Brazilian, came in as president of Nissan, a company in a deeply-conservative country, and started tearing everything up the Japanese held dear. I don’t think I need to remind you how that turned up…

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 0
      • Malaysiana on May 04, 2014 at 12:18 am

        Never mind French guy, the guy is from PSA another company that is bankrupt in Europe because its cars cannot sell well and all Peugeot models making losses, while Citroen, despite its good looks loses out as performance models to its own hometown hero, Renault, which incidentally shares platforms and engines with Nissan and Samsung of Korea.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 5
        • PSA was doing pretty well.
          They make good cars and have decent sales in the Europe.

          The problem was the structure of their business. They were very good in Iran, selling 458k units in 2011.
          For the reason of US sanction, they ought to quit Iran.

          And it seem PSA is back on the recovery line…

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
    • Malaysiana on May 04, 2014 at 12:14 am

      Change name to Hibiscus. At least sounds Malaysian!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0
      • Lotus seed on May 05, 2014 at 9:13 am

        uh ..no point to sounding anything like Malaysian if Lotus indirectly bleeding off Malaysians… who in any case wouldn’t give two hoots if even if d Lotus BRAND jatuh dalam Longkang.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
  • kzm (Member) on May 02, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    After this say…why hire european no boleh people capable kah statement

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 18
    • bisakeris (Member) on May 03, 2014 at 12:01 am

      >rba will say like that la hahaha<

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 0
      • Black Dog on May 05, 2014 at 1:13 pm

        You’re exactly right. kzm. No malaysian capable enuf. Mentality like you make us joguh kampung only.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
  • Iskandar Danial on May 02, 2014 at 7:00 pm

    You know, a change in management might open up new things in the future. Things might possibly be different, for the better I hope.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 20 Thumb down 3
  • Lenny Shakalaka on May 02, 2014 at 7:14 pm

    Just google for his name and look up the linkedin link

    He has switch job so many companies from Volkswagen to Daimler to Peugeot

    He never stays at a company more than 3 years, mostly 2 years only

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 5
    • kzm (Member) on May 02, 2014 at 7:51 pm

      Take foreigner get this answer..always get reason to bash n to hate

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 8
    • InisalahItusalah on May 03, 2014 at 12:23 am

      better offer why not.. if 2 years is enough to make a difference better than stay forever but no change.. and switching job means that the company really need him

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 20 Thumb down 4
  • Albert Lee on May 02, 2014 at 7:22 pm

    Protong will never jump out of the RED SEA if it continues to spoonfeed ailing Lotus.
    Tell us,has Lotus ever produced even RM1 in profit since Proton bought it?
    No amount of Mat Sallehs will turn it around.If money is not pumped into it by the millions,tomorrow it will be bankrupt.
    Proton is losing half a Billion Ringgit annually,a BIG CHUNK is due to cancerous and parasitic LOTUS.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 18
  • Jonny Tan on May 02, 2014 at 7:23 pm

    Why I seldom see Lotus on the road? anyone know why?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 15
    • arulkay on May 02, 2014 at 10:31 pm

      bcuz u not buy it…..cheers…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 21 Thumb down 2
    • mim (Member) on May 02, 2014 at 11:01 pm

      Lotus cars are very very very good serious driving machines/track toy but nobody uses Lotus as a daily driver (maybe except for old Esprit and Evora). Too impractical. Getting in/out of Elise/Exige can even break your back, and also extremely harsh on long journeys. It’s not even a luxury brand.

      And Lotuses doesn’t have that “supercar” status/spec numbers that rich ppl want to brag about.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 3
    • lotus elise quite often seen

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 2
  • retard on May 02, 2014 at 8:12 pm

    proton still use timing belt and drunk petrol like pipe bocor.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 14
  • justsomerandomdude on May 02, 2014 at 8:23 pm

    I wish him all the best.. Hope he’s a patient man and he doesn’t have any heart conditions.. cos he should be ready to be frustrated by those “guys” there.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 2
  • spongewai on May 02, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    we must see how many day or month or year he can stay starting today that he work

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
  • nabill (Member) on May 02, 2014 at 10:04 pm

    Hopefull he wil n promoted for mother of all jobs,managing proton from an almighty slump

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1
  • bisakeris (Member) on May 03, 2014 at 12:04 am

    ●even though i oledi so kecewa.. deep from my heart, i want lotus n proton to succeed..●

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 2
  • Mamatwhyla on May 03, 2014 at 12:12 am

    Kasi jual itu lotus, u cant afford la drb. Buat kereta Proton pun tunggang langgang, lagi mau bikin sportcar.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 8
  • baharin on May 03, 2014 at 2:10 am

    offering an equity stake to a foreign company
    would make more sense and lessen the burden
    of another capital injection.
    in fact Lotus would also gain in terms of expertise, marketing and branding.
    time to look at Lotus in a different perspective
    and move forward with radical changes.
    going down the same route as what Dany Bahar did
    will bring Lotus a full circle and back to square one.
    time to put pride aside and work towards reviving
    Lotus.
    good luck Lotus cos u’ll need it !!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1
  • abdullah on May 03, 2014 at 11:16 am

    Dany Bahar sue Lotus tens of millions of pounds. He
    was quietly paid.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 3
    • Rambo Ramsey on May 04, 2014 at 8:04 pm

      He ask for out of court settlement but Lotus is pressing the counter sue. Who the hell renovate rented house and move around in private jet when co is not doing well? Crazy angmoh

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 1
  • Obviously (Member) on May 03, 2014 at 11:26 am

    Pleasantly surprised that they instated a foreigner for the job, as it should be. I have feared that they would simply put some unqualified local yahoo at the helm of a company with such a great legacy. I think Lotus will lose all of its identity if it were ever Malaysianized with almost no hope of winning the confidence and trust of its intended markets. Best to keep it operating as a separate entity with its own identity.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 2
  • Towkey on May 03, 2014 at 11:52 am

    So making loss is really fun thing to enjoy?? Never heard of it in my business management class…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • spongewai on May 03, 2014 at 3:57 pm

    but 1st, bring back Lotus Esprit and new gen Elise into production and Evora facelift as well

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • Dead Chicken Kick Pot on May 03, 2014 at 7:47 pm

    Lotus don’t make cars, but go-karts. Other than the Esprit in the 80s, they don’t have a decent vehicle. Its days are well over if not for milking its mother Proton for money to run its loss making operations for the pass 15 years ++. Lotus is technically a defunct company, just like MG and Saab. Time and fund waster. It kept alive to feed egos of certain people who made the decision to buy Lotus back then

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 0
  • Allen toyota subang on May 03, 2014 at 7:54 pm

    Lotus is like an ulcer that continue to bleed PROTON daily… Eventually both will drown in its own clot….Any sane person would have sold LOTUS a long time … Wasting taxpayer money.. Is what DRB IS DOING… ACCOUNTABILITY, GOOD GOVERNANCE AND FINANCIAL PRUDENCE…. Is nowhere to be seen…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 3
    • Albert lee on May 04, 2014 at 9:15 pm

      Your Excellency Mr.Allen,I can’t understand why some goons dislike your and my comments when we write FACTS about CANCEROUS LOTUS.( No more Ulcer)
      I think they like to pay more taxes when Protong ask for GRANTS and FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE from Gomen.
      I think VVIP sharks want to keep Lotus cos they know easy TAXPAYERS BAILOUT is available and the corrupted managers and crony suppliers will be very delighted.
      Albert Einstein said “INSANITY IS DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN BUT EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS”

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 3
  • No worries. After 6 month drb will suspends and fire this guy. Then they go for court case and proton lose and have to pay him off. No future career in proton family.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
  • Tiger on May 04, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    Wtf, for Gods sake, pls sell off Lotus to somebody who at least can make it successful again, rather than throwing hundreds of millions of dollars every year to sustain the company to gain and save face..u dunt need. A Masters degree or even Phd to understand this…paying hundreds of millions of ringgit every year and so far only boast is the small word handling by or like Lotus” wat a sohai

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 2
 

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