The Automotive Council has today announced the appointment of two industry heavyweights to spur innovation, competitiveness and growth in the UK’s critical automotive sector. Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and CEO, Bentley Motors, is appointed Industry co-Chair, while Arun Srinivasan, Head of Bosch Mobility in the UK, takes on the role of Industry Deputy co-Chair of the industry-government partnership.
Both will work closely with Ministerial co-Chair Nusrat Ghani MP, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade, Minister of State for the Investment Security Unit and Minister for Industry and Economic Security, to champion the automotive sector and provide a strong voice for industry within government. With the transition to electrification happening at pace, key themes will include technological innovation, manufacturing competitiveness, connected and automated mobility and supply chains.
Adrian Hallmark joined Bentley Motors for a second time in February 2018 as Chairman and CEO, quickly defining Bentley’s ambition to become the leader in sustainable luxury mobility as part of the company’s Beyond100 strategy. His first experience was as Board Member for Sales and Marketing from 1999 to 2005. Adrian has 25 years of global and regional automotive board-level responsibility in the UK, US and Asia, with Porsche, Volkswagen, Jaguar Land Rover and Bentley Motors. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wolverhampton, UK, has a Diploma in Management Studies from Henley Business School and an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from the University of Wolverhampton.
Arun Srinivasan was appointed as the Head of Bosch Mobility in the UK in 2015 and has more than 30 years of experience at Bosch. Beginning his career in 1980 in Bangalore, India, at Bosch subsidiary MICO as a Technical Graduate Trainee he has gone on to hold several executive engineering roles in India, Germany and the UK. Prior to his current position, Arun was Senior Vice President, Sales & Application Diesel Systems, based in Stuttgart, Germany.
Hallmark and Srinivasan take the driving seat following the work of Dr Graham Hoare OBE, Chief Executive Officer, MTC Ltd, who served on the Council for some 12 years, most recently as industry co-Chair. “I would like to welcome and thank Adrian as co-Chair and Arun as Deputy co-Chair for taking on the leadership responsibility and helping us build on the good communication and collaboration between industry and government. It has been an honour for me to have co-led the Council and I’m confident that Adrian and Arun will continue to drive the automotive agenda at this transformational time.”, he said.
Nusrat Ghani MP, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade, said,
Adrian Hallmark is a fantastic appointment as the new Industry co-Chair of the Automotive Council and I’d also like to congratulate Arun Srinivasan on taking up the newly-created role of Deputy co-Chair. Their leadership in the sector will ensure the Automotive Council continues to champion this critical UK industry and be an invaluable forum for collaboration between government and industry. I want to extend my sincere thanks to Graham for his commitment to the UK automotive Sector and his work as Industry co-Chair. It has been my pleasure to work alongside him in this vital group.
Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and CEO, Bentley Motors Ltd, said,
We are in a critical and exciting time for the automotive industry as we transition technologies, infrastructure and skills to create a cleaner future. That’s why I was excited to take on co-leadership of the Automotive Council as it has a vital role to play bringing together industry and government behind one goal; to transition the industry to a connected, automated and net zero future while growing economic value in the UK. I am delighted to be able to build on my engagement so far and to co-Chair alongside Minister Ghani.
Arun Srinivasan, Head of Bosch Mobility in the UK, said,
It’s a privilege to take up this position and I’m looking forward to working closely with my colleagues on the Automotive Council and with the Industry co-Chair, Adrian Hallmark. We must ensure we maintain a good dialogue with all the industry’s stakeholders and, in particular, government. I would also like to pay tribute to the outgoing industry co-chair, Dr Graham Hoare, for his excellent leadership of the Council through some challenging times.
The Automotive Council was established in 2009 to enhance dialogue and strengthen co-operation between UK government and the automotive sector. It is made up of senior figures from across industry and government, meets three times per year and is responsible for bringing stakeholders together to ensure the UK automotive industry is globally competitive. Activity is channelled through mission and enabling groups, supported by many working groups, covering skills, competitiveness, digitalisation, supply chain and the transition to connected, automated and zero emission transport.