In a morning of surprises in the truck industry, its been announced that Michael May has resigned as the director of Mercedes Benz Truck and Bus IN Australia, to take up a new role as managing director of Iveco Trucks Australia.
May will replace the outgoing MD of Iveco Australia, Bruce Healey, who leaves the role he has held for the past 18 months.
May moves to Iveco after a 20 year career with Daimler where he had a number of roles including in engineering, after sales and in retail as dealer principal of two Daimler retail outlets.
He joins Iveco at a time when the company faces a number of major challenges including a potential close down of its Dandenong manufacturing operation, the loss of its high volume locally built Acco and increasing pressure from under performing models including Eurocargo, Stralis and the International brand, which Iveco represents in Australia as local distributor.
Michael May will be the fourth new MD of Iveco since 2016.
May’s departure leaves Daimler without leaders for two of its brands, with both Fuso and now Mercedes trucks looking for new directors, following Justin Whitford’s departure from Fuso earlier in 2019.
The statement from Iveco spruiks the fact that May joins the company, ‘at an exciting time with the recent introduction of the Heavy Duty Stralis X-Way range, and the on-going success of the Daily light duty models’. It goes on to say that ‘further key product actions are planned for 2020’.
Outgoing MD, Bruce Healy, will now move to the role of brand leader at another division of CNH Industrial, New Holland Agriculture. Healey’s move is a return to the agricultural equipment industry, a sector where he worked as brand leader for another CNHI division, Case IH prior to his time with Iveco.
His new role will see him reconnecting heavily with the farming community and New Holland’s extensive range of agricultural products; from tractors and combine harvesters to balers and haytools.
“The last two years, working closely with Iveco staff and the dealer network, have been tremendously satisfying,” Mr Healy said.
“I believe we’ve laid the foundation for an exciting future and whilst I’m disappointed that I won’t be around to further contribute to our performance, I’m excited by the challenge and responsibility of leading New Holland into the future,” he said.
The appointments of both Healy and May will take effect, on a transitional basis, from early 2020.
