A significant shift in leadership is underway at the Giltrap Group, with former CEO of Motorcorp (NZ distributor of Jaguar and Land Rover, and part of the wider Giltrap Group) Steve Kenchington stepping into the role of overseeing the operation, marking a new chapter for the company that has been a major player in the New Zealand automotive industry for 58 years.
Following the passing of company founder Sir Colin Giltrap last year his sons, Michael and Richard, joint managing directors of the group, took the decision to stand aside from running the business operationally to instead focus on high-level strategy, investments, and partnerships.
The decision for the leadership change came as a surprise to Kenchington, who says he had "absolutely no idea," about the move. “I asked them if there was any interview process and they just said ‘you've had a 14-and-a-half-year interview’," he laughed, acknowledging his long-standing history within the company.
A 27-year automotive industry veteran, Kenchington joined the Giltrap Group in 2010 as General Manager of Scandinavian Motor Distributors (Volvo and Renault), before being named General Manager of Motorcorp Distributors in 2015, becoming CEO in 2021.
The Giltrap Group has a long history of nurturing talent within its ranks, and Kenchington says he is keen to continue this practice, saying “nurturing talent inside the group is critically important."
“Sir Colin was always one for promoting from within and developing our talent internally,” said Kenchington. As a result of this, his successor at Motorcorp has been selected from within the company, with Ben Montgomery, current general manager of Volvo New Zealand, taking over the reins at Motorcorp.
With more than 21 years' experience in the automotive industry, Montgomery has worked in marketing for Volkswagen Marketing, an operations role at Jaguar Land Rover, and most recently, as Volvo New Zealand’s General Manager.
While Land Rover sales are at an all-time high with the on-going success of new Range Rover and Defender models, Montgomery steps into the role at a pivotal time for Jaguar, with the iconic British marque undergoing a massive transformation to position itself as a “super-luxury” brand to take on the likes of Bentley and Aston Martin.
However, both men echo the sentiment running through the local automotive industry that we are starting to come out the other side of the recent collapse in new car sales.
"I've started working my way through the wholesale divisions, the rental car division and the retail division, and there's some really exciting opportunities for us,” says Kenchington, noting that he was particularly excited for the future of the car industry in New Zealand following a few rocky years.
"We (the NZ car industry) have hit the bottom and we're bouncing along it, but I think we're now starting to see some green shoots appear which is you know really exciting for the group.”