This appears to have been something of a masterstroke from Aston: recruit probably the most successful automotive CEO in the country right now and hobble your closest competitor in the process. But why did Hallmark leave the comfort and cosiness of super-successful Bentley for the often intemperate, always unpredictable corporate environment of Aston Martin?
I’ve not spoken to him about it, but I’ve known him since he was Bentley’s marketing director and instrumental in taking the company back to Le Mans in the early years of this century so hope I have a fairly good understanding of what might have motivated him. And I think the answer actually lies in the question. He’d returned record sales and profits to Bentley and after six years at the helm, probably thought his work there was done. What’s more, at the age of 61 he probably thought he had enough time left to take on another big, Aston Martin-sized challenge. And Adrian loves a challenge.
But he is Aston’s fourth CEO in as many years, his predecessors all falling under reign of Executive Chairman and single largest shareholder Lawrence Stroll. Adrian is unafraid of and will have fought many boardroom battles before, but he is unlikely to have come across a character as strong or certain of his own opinions as Stroll. So the wisdom of Hallmark’s move remains unproven: if Stroll lets him do the job for which he had been hired, I predict only good things resulting. If not, Aston’s hunt for a CEO who’ll go the distance may not yet be over.
Lawrence Stroll has earned a reputation as a fierce competitor both on and off-track
Florent Gooden/DPPI
As for Bentley, the company is in a transition phase. Its existing product lines are old, the EVs upon which its future depends yet to arrive. Building the bridge between its past and future will require whoever replaces Hallmark to be a persuasive operator in the boardroom and a skilled salesperson in public. But the most important quality required is a profound understanding of the Bentley brand and what it means both to its existing customers and future prospects. It is not just another car company and cannot be treated as such. And of all Adrian Hallmark’s strengths, ultimately it was no more than his gut feeling for what a Bentley should be that has underpinned all the success Crewe has seen in recent years.
And the third announcement? It seems small beer by comparison, but it’s not. It is that Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, has bought out all other shareholders in the McLaren Group which owns both the Formula 1 team and road car business. And why should you care about that? Largely because with just one shareholder, you don’t need to get anyone else to agree before you can press ahead with major change. And McLaren Automotive CEO Michael Leiters – a former Ferrari Chief Technical Officer who was at Porsche before that – has made no secret of the need for McLaren to go into a strategic partnership with a large automotive OEM if its product plans – especially for a sporting SUV to rival the Ferrari Purosangue – are to be realised. With this deal, that possibility just moved a whole lot closer.