June/July 2001: BMW Group's international corporate and direct sales division has appointed David Gibbs head of marketing and communication.

Gibbs has held various positions in the automotive sector, mainly in the UK, and has worked for BMW in Munich for almost six years. V 'Increasingly, multinational organisations are able to organise their company car policies on an international level and have been approaching BMW Group in Munich directly to discuss the scope for an international agreement,' Gibbs said. BMW's International Corporate Sales can be contacted via the internet at www.bmw-ics.com.

SEAT has announced Steve Lewis as its new exterior design chief. Lewis' first automotive job was with Jaguar, with whom he spent a year before moving to Germany to take up a position in Volkswagen's design department. In 1996, he moved to Barcelona, where he began his association with Seat and was key in developing the Toledo and Leon models.

Philippe Op de Beeck has left his post as head of corporate division to join the Swisslog Management Board as vice-president of business development, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, based in Zurich.

Bruno Kintzinger, currently managing director of Renault Credit International Spain, will replace Op de Beeck.

Goodyear Dunlop Tyres has announced the appointment of group managing directors for country operations in France, Germany and the UK.

Sylvian Valensi, presently on special assignment reporting to Robert J, Keegan, president and chief operating officer, is appointed group managing director, French operations.

Gerd Gruenenwald, vice president sales and marketing European Union, is GMD, Germany. Marco Molinari, vice-president, global marketing projects, is GMD, UK.

Vauxhall has announced that Bill Parfitt will become its executive director, sales marketing and customer care, from July 1.
He replaces Ian Coomber, who is retiring. Parfitt, currently sales director, joined the UK-based manufacturer in 1998 as fleet sales director.

E-procurement specialist Portum has appointed Stephen Williams as UK managing director to further its European expansion. 'Portum has a very strong reputation in mainland Europe and I look forward to building that in the UK,' said Williams.

Onstar has announced Don Butler as OnStar Virtual Advisor. Butler's new role gives him responsibility for OnStar's new Virtual Advisor platform, including the business plan, product development and marketing strategies. The voice-activated system will allow subscribers to access information such as stocks, news and weather.