-
Reuss rationalised and reorganised the Red Lion brand locally and, crucially, won approval and finance to begin small car production in Australia
I am going to miss Mark Reuss.
You have to admire any chairman of GM Holden who lands from the USA wearing an HSV lapel pin and then parks a 48-215 in his garage, before upgrading his private ride to a restoration job on an FC Holden.
But that is personal opinion and Reuss deserves admiration for what he has done in just 18 months at Fishermans Bend. It's no stretch at all to say he has saved Holden.
Reuss rationalised and reorganised the Red Lion brand locally and, crucially, won approval and finance to begin small car production in Australia. The introduction of the Holden Cruze is the key to the company surviving the massive downturn in large car sales in Australia and building a viable future as the Commodore declines.
He also cemented the financial plan that allowed the company to survive the global shake-out triggered by GM's move into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. He might be an engineer but the son of former GM president Lloyd Reuss also has a keen ability on finances.
Rivals say he can also be a tiger in a meeting.
Reuss is succeeded as Holden's chairman by the livewire sales chief Alan Batey, who also began in engineering. He knows what the company needs and what his boss has in place.
The only question to be answered now is what Mark Reuss will be doing in the 'new GM' organisation. He heads back to a top-20 job at the company, but his exact post will not be revealed until later today.
