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 , 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.
, 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.
