By Peter Wilson, PCCNSW
Peugeot and Citroën are in for the woman’s touch.
Inchcape Australasia chief Nick Senior has chosen an experienced European chief executive with global experience to head Peugeot’s all-male executive team and the Citroën operation.
She is Dutch-born Anouk Poelmann (pronounced Pullman) and she will move from Luxembourg to start here in July.
She knows something of Australia from an earlier brand marketing role and in Europe has handled multiple brands successfully, and worked on both on the importer and retail sides of the industry.
Ms Poelmann, 49, described herself in a 2014 interview as a “car person” and “true networker” and team player when she followed her interest in retail and joined By Lenz, part of the French Car Avenue group that began in Lorraine specialising in Peugeots 90 years ago, as ceo. There she looked after Nissan and Infinity in Belgium and Luxembourg, actually getting Nissan to beat Toyota sales in the grand duchy. She was also on the board of industry group GDA Traxio.
“We are very pleased to welcome Anouk to the company,” Mr Senior said in a statement. “She joins us at a crucial moment as we expand our Australian distribution platform partnering with Groupe PSA to complement our current operations, creating an even stronger platform for growth.
“We are fully committed to grow the presence of the Peugeot and Citroën brands in Australia. Anouk’s strong track record and recognised leadership capabilities will be a major asset in this new phase of our organisation.”
Ms Poelmann said in her statement: “It is very exciting to join Inchcape Australia and become a part of the successful journey the company is going through.
“This is a company with a strong history and appealing core values: passionate about the ‘human’ side of our business, industry-leading customer experience, and commitment to delivering performance for our brand partners.
“On top of that Inchcape is a modern and dynamic company with a highly ambitious vision to be the world’s most trusted automotive distributor and retailer. The passion that I have encountered so far within Inchcape only adds to my excitement. “And the timing is excellent as we are launching a strong product offensive.
Mr Senior confirmed that Jemma White, from Inchcape’s Trivett luxury arm, will head PR for Peugeot and Citroën.
She has worked for the past two years as group marketing manager for Trivett Bespoke business – including Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls-Royce and McLaren.
Ms White last year accepted an award for “best cool, modern, luxury activity’ at Rolls-Royce’s global dealer awards in Berlin on behalf of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Sydney, having played a key role in the successful launch of the Dawn convertible in Australia.
“We are very pleased to further Jemma’s career within Inchcape,” Mr Senior said. “Jemma’s recognised capabilities will be a major asset in our commitment to grow the presence of the Peugeot and Citroën brands in Australia.”
