Holden’s last boss heads to Cadillac
Aquilina promoted, new GM Australia New Zealand business announcedThe last managing director of Holden has been promoted by General Motors to a senior job within its Cadillac luxury division.
Kristian Aquilina is to become managing director of Cadillac International Operations and Cadillac Middle East, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Aquilina, who started at Holden in 1997, was interim managing director when General Motors announced it was axing the brand in February.
Having seen GM through a fraught separation from the Holden dealer network, the establishment of GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) and a Senate inquiry, he leaves the job on November 1.
That timing means he won’t have to front up to a fresh Senate inquiry called into the Australian car industry today.
His effective replacement will be the current managing director of Holden New Zealand Marc Ebolo, who will lead a new business called GM Australia New Zealand.
GMANZ will include GMSV, Isuzu New Zealand and the Holden aftersales operations in both countries.
Ebolo’s appointment was announced the same day GMSV sent an email to prospective customers recommending they ask for deposits they may have placed for the C8 Chevrolet Corvette with Holden dealers to be refunded.
Intriguingly, if he sticks with Cadillac, Aquilina may one day find himself overseeing the brand’s introduction to Australia, as the name and logo has recently been trademarked here.
Cadillac is the subject of massive investment by GM at the moment as it transitions to an electrified brand.
Aquilina isn’t the first Holden managing director to be promoted after being involved in a tough decision.
Canadian Mike Devereux was running the business when the call was made to shut down local manufacturing and axe the locally-made Commodore.
He became vice-president sales, marketing and aftersales for GM International for three years and in 2017 was appointed executive vice-president SAIC-GM-Wuling in the critical Chinese market.
In a press release, Aquilina stated: “I am privileged to have worked with so many talented people who, among other things, have implemented a challenging but significant transformation of our business in Australia and New Zealand. Now is the right time to hand over to Marc.
“I have every confidence that under Marc’s leadership, the team will be successful well into the future.
In the same release Ebola said: “In Australia and New Zealand, we will work very closely with our key partners – the soon-to-be-appointed GMSV dealers, Holden service outlets, Walkinshaw Automotive Group and Isuzu – to grow our businesses and theirs.
“I look forward to working with our partners and to bringing to Australia and New Zealand exciting new vehicles from GM’s global portfolio, to compete in niche segments.”
Just to complete the backslapping, GM senior vice-president and president of GM International, Steve Kiefer, said: “GM continues to see significant opportunity in Australia and New Zealand. We are confident that under Marc’s leadership, our GMSV business is ready to compete in key niche segments, including the Silverado light and heavy duty, as well as the C8 Corvette, coming next year.
“I want to thank Kristian for his leadership through a period of significant transition in our business in Australia and New Zealand.”
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
