Martin Leach (executive)
Martin Leach (1957 – 1 November 2016) was a British businessman and engineer and the President of NEXTEV, a startup technology company specialised in designing and developing high-performance electric vehicles.
Leach had an automotive career spanning more than 40 years. He has led car and truck organisations and
During his career Leach was involved in operations and financial management, product creation and development, start ups, mergers and acquisitions and turnarounds as well as all parts of the Automotive Industry Value Chain/ His career focus beyond product and business leadership was process quality management.
A fellow of the
Biography
Leach was a
Between 1996 and 1999 he was Director of Global R&D, Managing Director and Member of the Board of
In 1999 he was appointed Corporate Officer of Ford. In 2000 he became Vice President of product Development at Ford Europe. In 2002 he became the President of Ford Europe. During this period, he began implementing the so-called ’45 in 5’ strategy, a plan to launch forty-five fresh products between 2002 and 2007. The strategy resulted in the launch of the
In 2003 Leach and Ford had a falling-out which resulted in Ford announcing that Leach had resigned. Leach sued Ford and won an injunction preventing Ford from enforcing a non-compete agreement against him. In 2005, Leach settled his lawsuit with Ford for $2.1 million USD.
In 2004, Leach became Chief Executive Officer of Maserati, Gruppo Ferrari. Maserati dismissed Leach in February 2005 as part of parent company Fiat's plan to align the brand with Alfa Romeo.
In July 2006 it was announced that Leach had been appointed chairman of LDV Group in England, by the new owner, the Russian automotive company GAZ Group. In 2008, Leach was appointed Vice Chairman of Ferronordic Group Volvo Construction Equipment.
In 2014 he became Board Advisor of
Martin Leach ran Magma International, the firm that entered into an agreement to buy the Super Aguri F1 team, but backed out after Magma’s financial backers, Dubai Investment Capital walked out of the agreement in the last minute.
In 2015 he became the Co-President of NEXTEV, a startup technology company specialised in designing and developing high-performance electric vehicles. Supported by NEXTEV, the
Awards
In 2000 Leach received an honorary doctorate at the University of Hertfordshire.
He was Product Development Executive of the Year for Automotive News in 2002.
In 2004 he was named Man of the Year by Automobile.[2]
Sporting achievements
Starting as a karting racer when he was 11 years. Leach turned professional when he was 14. Leach had a successful career as a professional racer in karts and cars, achieving several champion titles in Europe.
In 1974 he was the Winner of the Europa Cup and was 3rd in the
In 1979 he was Champion of Champions and Sportsman of the year at the Hong Kong Kart Grand Prix.
In 2000 he was Podium at the
In 2001 he was Class Winner at the
References
- ^ "NextEV boss Martin Leach passes away after battle with cancer". motorsport.com. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- ^ "2004 Man of the Year - Martin Leach - Automobile Magazine". automobilemag.com. 3 March 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- 2004 Man of the Year, Automobile Magazine http://www.automobilemag.com/features/awards/0402_leach/
- Former Ford Europe COO in U.S.-Chinese electric car project https://www.reuters.com/article/autos-chinese-manufacturers-idUSL5N10V49D20150820
- Interview: Martin Leach http://www.just-auto.com/interview/martin-leach-magma-ceo_id136274.aspx