It’s been bad year so far for motorcycle industry CEO’s in the United States, as we hear the Piaggio Group is having a shake-up of their own. After six years with the Italian company, Paolo Timoni is stepping down from his position as President & CEO of the Piaggio Groups Americas office, and will be replaced by Miguel Martinez. Martinez is the former General Manager of Piaggio Spain, and will report directly to Stefano Sterpone, Executive Vice President EMEA & Americas 2-Wheeler Sales & Marketing.
Piaggio isn’t going into a tremendous amount of detail over the changing of the guards, and was terse in its explanation for Timoni’s replacement. The company was also brief on its reasoning for tapping Martinez for his new role, stating only that the Spaniard has worked for the company for three years and “in that short period Mr. Martinez increased Piaggio Group’s market share in Spain by two points.”
Before joining Piaggio Spain, Martinez spent three years as the general manager of Ferrari and Maserati SpA for Spain and Portugal. He also held similar positions in Piaggio as General Manager of export markets for Derbi worldwide and Piaggio Latin America, meaning in his short time at the Italian company he’s seen his fair share of assignments (always a good sign).
“The opportunity to lead Piaggio Group Americas in its next phase is extremely exciting for me and a challenge I welcome as the opportunity for growth in this market is great,” said Martinez. “The Piaggio Group portfolio of Italian products represents the highest quality, most innovative and stylish motorcycle and motor scooters available on the market today. I look forward to working with our experienced dealer body and continuing to grow sales and market share in North America.”
As is often the case in these press releases, what’s being said is often less important than what isn’t being said, and we imagine Piaggio’s struggle in the American markets is part of the reason for Timoni’s departure. This announcement came only a day after the Piaggio Group released its yearly sales figures, which were down from 2009, although it did not break out performance by region. Draw your conclusions as you see fit.
Source: Piaggio Group
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