As you may have heard by now, I’m leaving my current role for pastures new in July, taking up the role of Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Nissan Europe.
Fortunately for you I’m writing this blog instead of having to tell you it face to face. I’ve got a horrendous cold at the moment and was surprised any of the staff here at Maple Cross understood a word of what I said when I stood up in front of them and announced it on Friday. I think they just about got the picture through the sneezing…
It’s been an amazing journey heading up the UK operations and the success we’ve achieved together could not have been possible without your help and support.
Who would have thought when we started out on this path that we’d be the number one Japanese brand in the UK dealing with waiting lists for our products? It really has been a dramatic turnaround and one I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.
I had to make a rather quick decision on the new job – Nissan Europe gave me just four hours to decide whether it was something I’d like to take on. I’ll be based in Switzerland for four days a week so will certainly be clocking up some airmiles, but I am really looking forward to the challenge.
I leave knowing Nissan in the UK is in an incredibly strong position and I’m sure my successor will enjoy working with you as much as I have.
GT ACADEMY
One last thing before I go. You may have spotted the GT Academy competition we’ve been running this year. Well, this week Jann Mardenborough, a 19-year-old from Cardiff, was crowned winner.
He rose to the top after a series of challenges, which included driving Nissan 370s and GTRs, single seaters, go karts and a full race-spec GT4 car.
Remember, though, that his journey began after competing heats on the PlayStation game GT5! It’s amazing that he has gone from that to now tackling a series of UK national races and next year’s 24 Hours of Dubai.
We’re hoping he can emulate last year’s winner Lucas Ordonez’s success at Le Mans where he finished on the podium in his class. Good luck to Jaan.