Crewe, 26 January 2015: Bentley Motors today announced that Michael Winkler will become President and Chief Executive Officer of Bentley Motors Inc., the regional office for Bentley Motors in the Americas, with effect from 1st April 2015. He succeeds Christophe Georges, who was recently appointed Director of Product and Marketing for Bentley’s global organisation.
Winkler will report directly to Kevin Rose, Bentley’s Member of the Board for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales. Rose commented: “The Americas region plays a key part in Bentley’s global success, our biggest market with more Bentley customers than anywhere else in the world. I am delighted to welcome Michael to Bentley, and look forward to working with him to drive our brand and network presence further.”
Winkler has more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, holding a number of international positions, working with Porsche in Germany, North America and Australia, and joins Bentley from Jaguar Land Rover, where he held the position of Managing Director of the company’s Australian division.
The Americas remained Bentley’s number one market throughout 2014, closing the year delivering 3,186 cars, up from the 2013 number of 3,140. This accounted for 29% of total global deliveries. There are 53 Bentley dealerships throughout the Americas, with the corporate headquarters based in Herndon, Virginia.
In Georges’ new role, based at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, he is responsible for the company’s marketing, product and motorsport activities, including brand strategy and development, digital marketing, CRM, the Bentley Collection and motorshows and live events.
Rose continued: “Christophe brings considerable experience from working for the Bentley brand internationally, leading Bentley’s activities in both Europe and the Americas. He has a wealth of knowledge of the ultra-luxury market and a strong understanding of the Bentley brand, making him the ideal person to take Bentley’s product and marketing activities into the future.”
