New boss for Inchcape Australasia

A new managing director has been unveiled to head up Inchcape’s operations on both sides of the Tasman.

Blair Read starts in the role for Inchcape Australasia on April 1 and will be aiming to drive growth and continued success in Australia and New Zealand.

The company has a diverse portfolio of distribution, retail, fulfilment and financial-services solutions delivery, including brand representation for Subaru, Peugeot, LDV, KGM, Deepal (Changan Auto) and Foton.

Read, pictured, has extensive automotive industry experience. He started his career at Inchcape in 2004 and rose through the ranks with appointments across sales, after-sales, marketing and business development before becoming managing director of Subaru Australia in December 2021.

He has been instrumental in pivoting the Australian business into a multi-brand and multi-category distribution operation, and deepening existing and new OEM partnerships – Deepal and Foton.

Read also implemented the centre of excellence for OEM product management and fleet-portfolio sales, and developed the dealer network for multi-brand growth strategy. Prior to Inchcape, he worked with brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Porsche and Seat.

Colin Christie, the current MD for Inchcape Australasia, has been appointed as regional director of strategy and transformation with Inchcape Apac from the start of next month. 

In this new role, Christie will drive the delivery of Inchcape’s Accelerate+ strategy across the Asia-Pacific region to scale, and optimise the businesses through distribution excellence and delivering superior value-added services.

Ruslan Kinebas, chief executive officer of Inchcape Apac, says: “Colin’s and Blair’s appointments highlight the exceptional talent at Inchcape, positioning us to lead the transformative journey in the industry.”

Read comments: “We are experiencing exciting growth in the Australasian business. I’m thrilled to be at the helm, driving sustainable growth for our OEMs and delivering exceptional experiences for our customers across Australia and New Zealand with our fantastic team.”

Christie says: “I’m excited to step into my new capacity to drive the Inchcape Accelerate+ strategy across the Asia-Pacific region. I would like to thank my colleagues, our partners and community for the support they have given to me and my team over the past years.”