The Holden brand may be in runout mode but General Motors still has a presence to maintain here.
From November 1, that presence will be led by Marc Ebolo, currently the managing director of Holden New Zealand.
As managing director of GM Australia and New Zealand, Ebolo will be responsible for the nascent GM Specialty Vehicles business plus the Holden Aftersales operation in Australia and New Zealand.
Isuzu Trucks New Zealand will also fall under his purview.
Though he started at Ford, Mr Ebolo has been with General Motors since 2001 and has worked in various sales, marketing, and product planning roles including a stint in Malaysia managing GM’s South-East Asian operations. He was appointed MD for Holden New Zealand in 2018.
He’ll take over from Kristian Aquilina, who will assume the role of managing director of international operations for General Motors’ flagship Cadillac marque and also helm Cadillac Middle East.
Mr Aquilina was also previously managing director of Holden New Zealand before becoming the interim chairman and MD for Holden.
President of GM International, Steve Kiefer, said, “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.”
Said Mr Ebolo, “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.”
He added he’ll prioritise customers and partnerships, saying, “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.”
