Renewal comes to automakers ' high command

Along with the rise of demand that placed the country among the four largest automotive markets in the world, Brazil is experiencing an unprecedented renewal in the command posts of automakers. In just two years, with greater emphasis in recent months, nine brands-Ford, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Chery-brought "new blood" to the head of its subsidiaries.
In the Group of executives who are coming to lead the business in the region, Arturo Piñeiro, President of BMW in Brazil, and Steve St. Angelo, Toyota's Chief Executive responsible for Latin America, barely completed a month in the new function. As the head of marketing for Mercedes-Benz, Philipp Schiemer, only takes on 1 June to automaker's Presidency in Brazil, although it has come to the country in recent days to participate in the transition in the company.
The list is even greater if the presidency changes at General Motors (GM) and started its, which manufactures Hyundai's utilities in the State of Goiás. But, in both cases, the post went to old acquaintances from the market. The Colombian Jaime Ardila, who for more than five years leads GM's operations in the region, returned to build up the automaker's Presidency in Brazil after two failed attempts in having an Executive dedicated to this position over the past three years. The businessman Carlos Alberto de Oliveira Andrade, owner of started its group, brought the former President Antonio Maciel Neto of Ford back to the sector to sign him in March to preside over your company.
With the exception of Ford's consolidated fourth-largest brand in the country, this wave of executives was cast to lead a new phase of development of its automakers in Brazil, with the implementation of projects of local production and the challenge to compete with the brands of the industry. In common, they arrive with the Mission of consolidating the nationalization of groups that were exploiting the Canadian market with vehicles, in large part, imported.
Both the German BMW as the Chinese Chery build its first plants in Brazil, while the Audi and Mercedes-Benz if dealing with plans to manufacture cars in the country. Toyota and Hyundai had already manufactured vehicles locally, but draped their banners in the field of compact cars-where are the biggest volumes-with factories in the State of São Paulo opened last year.
Nissan, which today brings Mexico's more than 70% of the cars it sells in Brazil, is investing r $ 2.6 billion in the construction of a plant in Resende, in the South of Rio de Janeiro. In turn, Honda, already installed in Sorocaba (SP) since 1997, was one of the brands that more evolved in sales last year.
In this way, closely monitor these transformations became a priority for the automotive groups and this implies confidence to new managers take control of subsidiaries in the country. "On the professional side, executives have an interest in getting out of the crisis in Europe and be in more dynamic markets such as Brazil," says Hugo Caccuri, founding partner of Caccuri, expert advice in the selection of high-ranking professionals.
For details on biographies, either by differences of career and academic training, it is almost impossible to draw a definitive profile of the new crop of auto industry executives. But, in General, are career employees, in the range of 50 to 60 years-mostly foreigners and with international operations or crossings by the matrix of their corporations.
In General, the new Presidents are career employees and with great international luggage
Affinities with the culture or experiences in development markets next to Brazilian reality also help in appointments. Nissan and Mercedes, for example, put in charge of foreign executives subsidiaries-however, fluent in Portuguese and with previous passages by Brazil.
In less than a year at the company, François Dossa Beach went from Chief Financial Officer to President of Nissan in Brazil, a position he holds since January by Christian Meunier, your predecessor, for Canada. Even with little seniority and in the financial market's welcome industry, Nissan is your gateway to the universe-automotive, familiarity to the unstable business environment in Brazil and the ability to negotiate with Governments here qualify Dossa Beach to take charge of the subsidiary and the mission to make the Japanese automaker the largest trademark activity in the Asian market.
Dossa beach is French, but built much of his career in Brazil-always in multinational companies in their country of origin. Today, it is more European than Brazilian. First, he was commercial Manager of Alstom in São Paulo in the 80. Thereafter, between 1999 and 2012, Dossa Beach, already naturalized Brazilian and owner of a Rio citizen, was President of the Brazilian bank Société Générale branch.
Ties with the country were also considered by Mercedes to choose Philipp Schiemer as President of the Brazilian subsidiary, where the Executive has already had two passes. In the Decade of 90, he participated as head of sales of vans, the introduction of the Sprinter van in Brazil. After this, he returned in 2004, to take on the Vice President of affiliate sales, a post he held for five years.
As well as Dossa Beach, Schiemer speaks Portuguese perfectly. Your luggage conquered in positions of leadership for the car division of the Group indicates that Mercedes will carry forward the plan to manufacture cars in Brazil.
In the BMW, Arturo Piñeiro has Hispanic name and career built in Spain and in the United States, but is Brazilian born in São Bernardo do Campo, in the ABC paulista. With 18 years in the German group, their first mission will be complete until next year the construction of Araquari, in the North of Santa Catarina, where BMW will invest € 200 million. Similarly, the competitor Audi continued under the baton of a Brazilian after Sérgio Kakinoff went to the Goal in July 2012-leaving the direction of trademark to Leandro Radomile, which is eight years in the company.
Forex side, Kong Fan Long-before responsible for brand quality-is the strong-man since the Chinese automaker Chery decided a year ago to have a command structure in Brazil. At Toyota, American Steve St. Angelo, now based in São Paulo, took over at the beginning of the month the leadership in Latin America and the post of chairman (Chairman of the Board) in Brazil, after a series of command posts of the company in the United States.