The world’s leading automotive distributor introduces changes to its global executive team and appoints a new CEO for the Americas region.
From London, Inchcape’s global CEO, Duncan Tait, announced changes to the Global Executive Team, which will better enable Inchcape to deliver on its evolved Accelerate+ strategy, with a view to the goal of doubling the business by 2030.
In the case of Inchcape Americas, a new Regional CEO will be taking over, Mike Bowers, who will replace Romeo Lacerda as of 1 April.
Over the last four years, Inchcape’s business has had significant growth in the Americas. The company tripled its sales through more than 25 new contracts with manufacturers and the acquisition of companies such as Indumotora, Derco, Ditec and Simpson Motors, in addition to entering new countries and segments in the region.
This would not have been possible without a firm belief in the Accelerate+ strategy, which seeks to consolidate Inchcape’s global leadership and the trust placed by automotive manufacturers in its ability to be the best ally on the road to market. Nor would it have been possible without Inchcape’s commitment to the region and its development.
Mike Bowers arrives in the region from London, where he is currently Group General Counsel & Chief Sustainability Officer. Mike is a proven leader with extensive business knowledge gained over a 25-year international career.
Mike has been at Inchcape for the last ten years and has been a member of the Global Executive Team for the last five. As Global General Counsel, he played a key role in Inchcape’s growth in the Americas, where he was actively involved in all acquisitions since 2016, including Indumotora, Rudelman, Ditec and Derco.
As Chief Sustainability Officer, Mike transformed Inchcape’s approach to sustainability, forging powerful alliances with manufacturing partners and introducing new capabilities, processes and a reporting system that enable Inchcape to ensure the most sustainable route to market for its partners.
As the next step in his career, Romeo Lacerda will take on global responsibilities as Chief Commercial Officer, based in the London headquarters. From there, he will head up the Digital & Data teams, the Distribution Excellence programme and the Value-Added Services area. This is a new role at Inchcape, aimed at continuing to develop Inchcape’s digital and data capabilities, ensuring excellent commercial and operational performance tailored to each market, and optimising resources to remain the best distribution partner for manufacturers.
This change is a career advancement for both executives and a testament to Inchcape’s succession planning and commitment to training and developing its internal talent.
The other changes announced by the London headquarters include:
- Expanding the responsibilities of Liz Brown, current Global Strategy Director (Chief Strategy Officer), to include the area of Sustainability under her mandate.
- The promotion of Rajvi Kothari, currently Legal Director for the Asia-Pacific region, to Global Legal Director (Group General Counsel).
Duncan Tait, Inchcape CEO, commented, “These senior leadership changes come at an important time for Inchcape as we look to build on the success of recent years with our new Accelerate+ strategy. Our ambition is to further enhance our position as the world’s leading independent automotive distributor, building a stronger, more diversified company that generates sustainable growth and value for our OEMs and investors. I would like to congratulate Romeo, Mike, Liz and Rajvi on their new roles and look forward to their contributions in helping us to achieve these aims.”