Monday April 21, 10:46 AM
Jaguar and Land Rover chief Geoff Polites dies in Australia
SYDNEY (AFP) - The chief executive of British luxury icons Jaguar and Land Rover, Geoff Polites, has died in Australia where he was visiting family, Ford Australia said Monday. He was 60.
Polites, a former president of Ford Australia, is credited with leading Jaguar and Land Rover through the on-going sale from Ford to India's Tata Motors Ltd.
The deal is set to net the ailing US carmaker 2.3 billion dollars.
Ford Australia president Bill Osborne said Polites died in Melbourne on the weekend after a long illness, but did not specify what had caused his death.
"Geoff was home in Australia for the birth of his first grandchild and, unfortunately, became critically ill while here," he said in a statement.
"He passed away with his wife and family by his side."
Osborne said Melbourne-born Polites was determined, despite his illness, to return the prestige motor brands to profitability after taking on the top post in 2005.
"His energy, enthusiasm and support for our business will be sorely missed," he said.
Polites joined Ford Australia in 1970 as a product planner and trained in the US and Europe before returning to Australia in 1975 as marketing and research manager.
In 1988 he resigned to work with a Ford dealership in Sydney but rejoined Ford Australia a year later as its president.
His death comes just weeks after Tata Motors announced in late March it was buying Jaguar and Land Rover in a purchase designed to see India's top vehicle maker expand its reach beyond Asia.
Ford sold the struggling prestige brands to focus on turning around its North American operations after heavy losses over the past two years.
Under the deal with Tata, the US carmarker will get less than half of what it paid for the two marques after buying Jaguar in 1989 for 2.5 billion dollars and Land Rover in 2000 for 2.7 billion dollars.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the June quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
|
|
|
Send Article by Email
Send Article by IM
Blog This with Y! 360
Printable View
