Andy Dunstan to become head of GM's Russian division on Nov 1
MOSCOW. Oct 18 (Interfax) - Andy Dustan replaces Jim Bovenzi as the new head of GM's Russian division on November 1, a GM press release states.
The former head of GM's Russian subsidiary, Jim Bovenzi, will continue working with the company in Detroit as the general manager of global strategic development services.
Also beginning on January 1, 2014, GM's Russian division will be controlled by GM Europe. Prior to this, the Russian division was controlled by GM's International Operations in Shanghai.
"This is the right decision at the right time. Russia is an important part of the European market and for Opel it is the third biggest market in Europe," says Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, Chairman of Opel/Vauxhall and President, GM Europe. "All forecasts point out that Russia will become the biggest market in Europe in the next years. Opel enjoys high reputation in Russia. With our strong model portfolio we want to clearly increase our market share," he said.
GM in Russia is represented by the brands Opel, Chevrolet and Cadillac.
Dunstan will work directly under Neumann. Before this, Dustan worked as the executive sales director for Central and Eastern Europe.
According to data from the Association of European Businesses, the company's sales in Russia over the last nine months of 2013 decreased by 13% to 188,911 automobiles, in comparison with the same period of the previous year.