摘要: |
My responsibility is to manage and direct a commercial vehicle business for Mercedes-Benz in the north-west of England and north Wales across five sites ranging from Stoke-on-Trent through Merseyside, north Wales, Liverpool, Warrington and Manchester. This includes developing a strategic direction for eStar, and steering the board of mangement and the leadership team. Day-to-day, when not in meetings, I enjoy walking round the sites, speaking to the team, listening to them, understanding what's working well and what needs improvement. Too many senior leaders shut themselves away in an office and miss the reality of their businesses, so I'm always happy to walk around, find people I've not previously met, and ensure that I'm approachable, not least because when I was in their roles, I would have appreciated the same. What are the most significant challenges ahead? The automotive industry is changing literally by the day and will change more in the next five years than it has in the past 50. The obvious changes in propulsion methods, diesel to electric and diesel to hydrogen, will keep us occupied for the next 10 years and we have to plan and implement the relevant infrastructure solutions to keep our all-important customers moving. It's not like the launch of a new model; electric and hydrogen are complete societal changes, requiring huge amounts of education, complete redesigns of towns and cities, overhauling the infrastructure in every aspect, and even rethinking how we live and interact with each other. |