AADA is delighted to have secured Jaguar Land Rover Australia’s Managing Director, Mark Cameron, to deliver the keynote address at the AADA 2019 National Dealer Convention & Expo.

The partnership between Dealers and manufacturers is more important than ever, and with a retail automotive Franchise Code of Conduct soon to be introduced, it is imperative that we remain in close dialogue with each other.

Mark Cameron was appointed to the post of Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover Australia, in July 2018. Prior to joining Jaguar Land Rover Australia, in a career spanning more than 25 years, Mark was an experienced Director of Sales & Marketing, with a broad history in a range of positions within Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda Motors and Ford Motor Company, including a secondment to a large motor retailing group in the UK.

Most recently Mark was a Senior Director within the global marketing function at Jaguar Land Rover HQ with responsibility for sponsorships and partnerships, global events and auto shows, drive experiences and motorsport (Jaguar Racing).

Having joined Mazda Motors UK at the time of transition from distributor to national sales company, his responsibilities as Sales Director included sales of over 50,000 vehicles in both retail and fleet channels, retailer network development strategy and retail operations.

Mark now leads the Australian business at a very busy and exciting time, as new propulsion and vehicle control technologies are introduced and OEMs adapt to fast-changing customer mobility requirements. Steering Jaguar Land Rover through a post-Brexit era should also keep the in-tray full!

When he took up his current role Mark expressed his focus, “will be on exciting our customers through world class products and services, and providing a stable and profitable long-term business for our partners”.

It is heartening to hear the head of a leading manufacturer refer to Dealers as ‘partners’, and to state that ensuring Dealer profitability is a priority. It is only by working together that both sides of this equation will continue to grow and profit.

AADA has always prided itself on attracting leaders of OEMs to our annual Convention. In the past we have enjoyed addresses from other heads of manufacturers, including Geoff Polites, Marin Burela, and Bob Graziano of Ford (Bob loved it so much he stayed for the entire Convention!), Mike Devereux and Dennis Mooney from General Motors, John Conomos of Toyota, and Tom Phillips of Mitsubishi.

Adding Mark to this prestigious company will provide delegates with another point of view from an important voice in our industry. With his experience at the global level, he is well-placed to understand the issues facing the Australian market. His previous role as ‘Global Experiential Marketing Director’ will have him well-versed in consumer desires, so we look forward to hearing from him how he thinks Dealers can better engage and communicate with car buyers, as well as his views on a whole raft of issues.