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Aston Martin has tapped Bentley's former chief govt, Adrian Hallmark, to take over as CEO and stabilize the luxurious carmaker synonymous with James Bond.
Aston Martin mentioned Friday that Hallmark will exchange 77-year-old Amedeo Felisa earlier than Oct. 1. He would be the fourth CEO to guide the corporate since billionaire Lawrence Stroll grew to become govt chairman in 2020.
Hallmark, 61, led Volkswagen AG's Bentley for the previous six years, boosting its margins by leaning into customized autos and instilling extra self-discipline on pricing and stock. Hallmark, who beforehand held senior roles at Porsche and Jaguar Land Rover, mentioned Aston Martin's transformation is without doubt one of the most fun tasks within the luxury-car business.
Aston Martin has repeatedly wanted to boost extra capital since Stroll rescued the corporate 4 years in the past. Saudi Arabia's Public Funding Fund, China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co and EV maker Lucid Group Inc have taken stakes within the UK firm from mid-2022.
The CEO's announcement comes after Aston Martin accomplished a £1.15 billion ($1.4 billion) refinancing earlier this month to ease investor considerations about its steadiness sheet.
Whereas accountable for Bentley, Hallmark helped remodel the ultra-luxury British model by reducing prices, elevating costs and specializing in customized autos. He joined Aston Martin after the second-best 12 months in Bentley's historical past.
“We are actually making 3 times, 4 instances the income per 12 months on a couple of thousand extra automobiles than we bought within the 2000s,” he instructed reporters this month.
Hallmark postponed the launch of Bentley's first totally electrical automobile to late 2026 as an alternative of subsequent 12 months. This mirrors the transfer taken by Aston Martin, which has pushed again its first battery mannequin by a 12 months because of lack of demand.