Nissan appoints new Managing Director: Sales and Marketing

Starting his career with Ford in 1990, Norman moved five years later to Volkswagen SA where he helped the brand increase sales volume and customer satisfaction.
His strong sales and marketing expertise was also instrumental in increasing VW's market share between 2003 and 2006 at a time the number of competitors in South Africa had more than doubled.

Before departing VW SA, Norman had been promoted to General Manager Sales and Marketing.
Said Nissan SA's Managing Director, Mike Whitfield: "We are delighted to have someone of Stuart's calibre join Nissan. His portfolio experience and expertise, coupled with wide industry knowledge, is a great asset and will help drive our aggressive growth ambitions."

Leading a strong team at Nissan SA, Norman will be responsible for all aspects of sales and marketing across the company's three brands (Nissan, Infiniti and also Datsun, which will launch later this calendar year). This encompasses customer satisfaction, retail and aftersales objectives, dealer and shareholder returns, and brand value.

Commenting on his appointment, Norman said: "I am tremendously excited and enthusiastic to represent Nissan SA and to work with our team of staff and dealers.

"As well as increasing Nissan's presence and sales volume within SA, I will be focusing on improving customer satisfaction and shareholder confidence against the challenging backdrop of recent labour disputes that have disrupted the automotive industry."

One of Norman's first objectives is to grow the Nissan brand in South Africa in the short and medium term, and, at the same time, create an environment that is attractive to investors. Another goal is to establish Nissan, highly regarded in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) category, as a mainstream passenger car player.