Lotus Appoints New CEO: Dany Bahar

British manufacturer Lotus announced yesterday the appointment of its new CEO, Dany Bahar, effective October 1. Previously, Bahar was senior vice president with Ferrari, in charge of marketing, licensing and merchandising. He started his management career as head of corporate projects for Red Bull GmbH, in charge with setting up the F1 strategy for Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso.

“With Dany’s track record in motorsports and Ferrari, we strongly believe that we have found the right CEO to enhance the Lotus image, brand and reputation as a world class sportscar and engineering company. With a strong management team already in place, we are confident this objective can be attained,” Dato' Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, Lotus' Chariman said when announcing the appointment.

“I am looking forward to taking on the challenges as CEO of this legendary and iconic company with a peerless motorsport history. Lotus has a worldwide reputation for innovative engineering and superb sportscars that lead the world in efficiency, design and dynamics. With the recent launch of the award-winning Evora, there is proof that Lotus is better placed than many to capitalise on the rapidly changing automotive market. I can’t wait to get my plans underway in October,” Dany Bahar added.

Bahar will be replacing Mike Kimberley, who stepped down from his position as company's CEO, due to health related problems. Kimberley joined Lotus in 1969 as manager of Continuous Engineering. In 1976, he was appointed managing director of Lotus Cars, becoming managing director of Lotus Engineering by 1980. He took the position of company CEO in 1982, following the death of Colin Chapman.