Inchcape fills top role

Inchcape Australasia has appointed Paul Mallard, who has more than 20 years of senior operational and commercial leadership experience, as general manager of New Zealand.

Mallard, pictured, joins Inchcape most recently served as chief operating officer at Synlait, leading an end-to-end value chain driving performance, transformation and operational excellence.

He also has extensive commercial and channel expertise from prior roles at Fonterra, including leadership across sales and marketing, distributor strategy, franchising, route-to-market management, customer partnerships and global capability programmes.

Adding to this strong leadership background, Mallard has a genuine passion for the automotive industry, having spent five years as general manager of Rally New Zealand at the time when it was country’s largest annual sporting events.

Blair Read, managing director, of Inchcape Australasia, says: “Paul is a proven operator and brings a sharp commercial mindset along with a pragmatic, execution-focused approach. His automotive background and passion makes him a perfect fit as we continue to strengthen and grow our operations.”

Mallard, who based in Auckland, adds: “Inchcape has built a strong platform in New Zealand, supported by great partners, brands and people. 

“I’m looking forward to getting close to the business quickly, understanding what’s working well, and building on that to drive improved performance and better outcomes for our customers.”