General Motors President Receives Top Honor from Evo Middle East

Beirut- John Stadwick, President and Managing Director of General Motors Middle East Operations, has been named ‘2011 Man of the Year’ by leading auto publication Evo Middle East.

Stadwick’s accolade comes on the back of exceptional figures for GM in the region during 2011. GM Middle East sold 139,431 vehicles in 2011, up 13 percent compared to 2010.

Evo Middle East, which also awarded the Chevrolet Camaro Convertible the title of ‘2011 Muscle Car of the Year’, said Stadwick had transformed the fortunes of GM in the Middle East since he joined as President and Managing Director in March 2010 from GM’s Shanghai headquarters.

The auto industry in the Middle East was still recovering from the global crisis and, like all automakers in the region, GM had suffered from declining sales in 2009. But soon after Stadwick’s arrival, GM Middle East started a run of 13 consecutive months of double digit growth stretching from October 2010 to October 2011.

The sales turnaround was due to new vehicle launches and GM’s renewed focus on creating a world class shopping, buying and ownership experience in the region.

“When he took over General Motors Middle East in 2010, John Stadwick found sales had slumped. The collapsing world economy had hit the firm hard, but in less than two years the American has turned the fortunes of the company around,” commented Evo Middle East.
“New products have played their part, which enabled GM Middle East to register 13 consecutive months of double-digit growth. With Stadwick at the helm, he deserves the credit for turning around the regional fortunes of an iconic American brand,” added Evo Middle East.

Stadwick helped to have a positive impact on all three of GM’s brands in the Middle East with Chevrolet registering 16 percent sales growth in 2011, GMC posting a 10 percent gain, and Cadillac recording an 8 percent increase.

Stadwick began his career with GM in 1984 with GM’s Oldsmobile Division in Lansing, Michigan. He later held various sales, marketing and service positions in the U.S. states of Michigan, South Carolina and New York as well as overseas in Mexico and China. Before joining GM Middle East, Stadwick held the position of Vice President, Aftersales at GM International Operations in Shanghai, China.

About General Motors

General Motors Company (NYSE: GM, TSX: GMM), one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in more than 120 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 31 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall, and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is China, followed by the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Italy. General Motors acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

In the Middle East since the 1920s, General Motor’s vehicle brands sold in the region are Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC supported by a unique set of customer-focused services. GM parts and accessories are sold under the GM Parts and ACDelco brands. The regional office in Dubai covers the company’s operations in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE and Yemen. For more media material about GM in the Middle East, please visit http://media.gmarabia.com.

About RYMCO

Rasamny-Younis Motor Company S.A.L. (RYMCO) is a joint stock company, ISO certified 9001:2008 that was established in 1957 in Lebanon and is the only automotive dealer to be listed on the Beirut Stock Exchange since 1998. RYMCO is one of the leading vehicle retail dealerships in Lebanon where it holds majority market share in the new vehicle retail industry, and commands a considerable portion of the used vehicle market. RYMCO operates a chain of independent showrooms and stores, a bonded warehouse as well as state-of-the-art servicing and maintenance facilities. The company has an automotive dealership arrangement with auto manufacturers in the US, Japan, Europe and China that include the likes of automotive giants Nissan Motors (Nissan, Infiniti), GM vehicles (GMC), Renault trucks, UD Trucks, and Kawasaki under the Leisure division. RYMCO marine is another unit within the RYMCO operations specialized in the servicing of boats under the brand name of RYMCO Marine.

In 2009, RYMCO UK was granted the right to distribute the Infiniti brand of cars in London. It will cover distribution for the area through three SSS IREDI facilities in Reading, Chiswick and Hatfield; along with a boutique in the centre of London in Piccadilly.
RYMCO SAL holds also the majority of the shareholding of free zone companies in Syria which main activity is the importation of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles and the storage of these vehicles in the free zone areas, for the purpose of reselling them to the Syrian market (mainly to a Syrian company owning the exclusive distribution for Nissan cars in Syria.)