MICHAEL COLE

Chief operating officer, Kia Motors USA

A 10-PLACE Brit List jump for Michael Cole, thanks to a promotion from the top job at Kia Europe to the helm of the US division. He left Kia Europe in good shape; it shifted a record 472,125 vehicles in 2017 to give the firm a three per cent share of the European car market for the first time. The reward for the ex-kia UK boss is a move to the US, where the brand’s market share is higher, but where sales dipped in 2017, to less than 600,000 units. Cole will try to reinvigorate Kia’s US network and build its fast-expanding EV range.