Briton drives Bentley

A BRIToN is taking over Bentley’s driving seat after years of the Volkswagen-owned firm being led by German bosses.

Adrian Hallmark, 55, has been named as chief executive of the Crewe-based luxury car brand, moving from Jaguar Land Rover where he has been group strategy director for the past four years.

Hallmark will replace chairman and chief executive Wolfgang Duerheimer who will retire.

The last British boss of Bentley – which has been owned by underfire Volkswagen since 1998 – was Tony Gott, from 1998 to 2001. Hallmark takes over in February 2018.

The car maker, which was founded in 1919, employs around 4,000 in Crewe and sells heavily on the Britishness of its vehicles, including the latest Bentley Continental GT.

The move is a plum post for engineer Hallmark, who is married with two children and previously served on the main Bentley board between 1999 and 2005.

A French and German speaker, he was also executive vice president for Volkswagen of America between 2005 and 2008 and regional director for Volkswagen Asia until october 2009.

Matthias Muller, chief executive of Germany’s giant Volkswagen group, said: ‘I am confident he [Hallmark] will lead this extraordinary British company to even greater success.’