Tag: coo

Official: Nissan Americas’ Tavares becomes Renault COO on heels of spy scandal

Filed under: Europe, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Nissan, Renault

Carlos TavarasRenault has a new chief operating officer. Carlos Tavares, formerly the Chief Executive Officer for Nissan Americas, will now fill the void left by former Renault COO Patrick Pelata. Pelata left the French automaker amid a botched spy scandal investigation that saw a rash of Renault executives lose their positions. Taveres has a long history with Renault, having served with the company for 24 years before being assigned to the U.S. with Nissan Americas in 2003. His move back to Renault has been rumored for some time and the company hopes that its new executive can help point sales in a better direction.

Meanwhile, back in the U.S., Tavares’ old role will be handled by many hands. Colin Dodge will serve as chairman of the Americas in addition to retaining his title as Executive Vice President, Chief Performance Officer and Chairman of Nissan operations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India. Dodge will be joined by Bill Krueger, who will now take up the mantle of Vice Chairman.

Krueger previously served as the Head of Manufacturing, Purchasing and Supply Chain Management for Nissan. TheDetroitBureau.com reports that Krueger will move farther up the chain should he be able to prove himself in his new role. Click past the break for a look at the full press release.

Continue reading Nissan Americas’ Tavares becomes Renault COO on heels of spy scandal

Nissan Americas’ Tavares becomes Renault COO on heels of spy scandal originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 31 May 2011 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog talks to Saab NA President and COO Tim Colbeck after his first day

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Marketing/Advertising, Saab

Tim Colbeck, Saab

“I’m a horrible manager,” admits Muller, “but I’m very good at raising money.”

While in Washington D.C. for the 2012 Saab 9-4X launch, we had dinner next to Victor Muller, then spoke to the newly announced captain of Saab’s North American ship, Tim Colbeck, who actually fills the dual roles of president and COO – at the end of his first day on the job. Muller started the evening by talking about the most recent troubles, saying of the production stoppage, “It was all my fault.”

“Saab was really a General Motors subsidiary – GM financing, GM terms and conditions, GM suppliers, and things can start to come apart when you’re independent. Sometimes you have to tell suppliers it’s not going to be the way it was.”

Muller says a single supplier told Saab that “if we didn’t pay, he wasn’t going to open his truck that day,” and Muller “called his bluff.” The supplier was a man of his word, wouldn’t deliver the parts, and the lack of those particular components caused a production stoppage of two hours, which Muller says is “normal elsewhere, but not in Sweden.”

To hear Muller tell it, it might not have been such a problem if the Swedish media, which he accuses of being Saab bashers, hadn’t turned it into a sensational story. “Within two hours of the stoppage,” he said, “we didn’t have one supplier with problems, we had 92 suppliers with problems” as Saab experienced a “run on the bank.” Continue reading…

Continue reading Autoblog talks to Saab NA President and COO Tim Colbeck after his first day

Autoblog talks to Saab NA President and COO Tim Colbeck after his first day originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 May 2011 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saab picks Subaru exec as COO of North American business

Filed under: Etc., Saab, Subaru

saab badgeSaab finally has a few bucks to spend, and the Swedish automaker is doing just that by grabbing Timothy Colbeck, former Senior Vice President of Sales at Subaru. Colbeck is being thrust into the role of President and Chief Operating Officer for Saab’s North American business operations. Colbeck certainly has his work cut out for him, but a fresh capital infusion and some new models on the horizon should help.

Saab picks Subaru exec as COO of North American business originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 May 2011 16:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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