Two new CEOs in two years for Aston Martin?
Words: Matthew Hansen
2021 was a building year for Aston Martin. Of particular note was the success of its DBX. In its first full year on sale, the luxury SUV has been a significant seller for the marque, even outselling every other model in their line-up combined in Q3.
It appears, however, that the nameplate’s success might not have been enough to satisfy those monitoring the british brand’s finances. Its projected annual EBITDA core earnings are some 15 million pounds short of expectation, the brand reported earlier this year.
As this information was revealed, rumours swirled that the brand is looking for a new chief executive officer to lead it out of these tough times, less than two years after its current CEO took up the role.
Former Mercedes-AMG chief executive Tobias Moers took over the CEO role in August 2020, following the messy exit of previous CEO Andy Palmer. Moers appointment was seen by pundits as a step in the right direction, with his stint at AMG considered to be a successful one.
Despite seeing through the DBX (admittedly itself a Palmer project) and making big changes to the projects that Palmer had in the pipeline (chiefly putting the Lagonda programme on the back burner), Moers reportedly hasn’t done enough to escape scrutiny.
Autocar UK reports that around half of Aston Martin’s senior leadership team has left the firm since Moers’ arrival. Moers is also likely to be wearing some blame for the ongoing delay of the Valkyrie hypercar, with Covid-19 also playing a part.
Who might replace Moers? Well Bloomberg speculates that Ford executive Steven Armstrong is on the shortlist for the position. A long-term Ford employee, Armstrong has also previously worked for Volvo and Jaguar.
Aston Martin hasn’t formally commented on the speculation, other than a brief statement saying “Aston Martin doesn’t comment on speculation”. Executive chairman Lawrence Stroll added in a recent interview that the firm has “absolutely not engaged whatsoever in looking to replace Tobias.”
The brand’s positive sales figures in 2020 were more than skin deep. The success of the DBX resulted in revenues being up some 300 per cent year-on-year in 2021. This was thwarted somewhat though by loan repayments the firm had delayed processing until last year.
