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New Isuzu chief lays out plans for 2019

Harbison says keeping pace with technological changes and customer support will underpin Isuzu's future success

 

Director and new chief executive officer of Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) Andrew Harbison has laid out a strategy for the brand in 2019.

Harbison, who is an ongoing board member and the former chief operating officer, officially took over the reins as chief executive from recently-retired Phil Taylor.


Read more about Taylor’s departure and accolades, here


Meanwhile, company secretary and business planning manager Paul Evans has been promoted the role of director and chief of corporate services.

“Over the last two decades, Paul has played a key role in helping shape and deliver the country’s most professional truck dealer network,” Harbison says.

“This has been critical to our long-term success and Paul’s rise within our organisation is definitely well-earned.”

Identifying key areas of development and plans for Isuzu’s future, Harbison says in the next 30 years the industry will see a different operating environment to the last three decades.

“As we embrace and respond to the rapid pace of business and technological change, we will leverage our experience and knowledge to develop the transport solutions for the future,” he says.

“As the long-term market leader with a deep understanding of our customers’ businesses, we are in a privileged position to be able to develop high-value insights and act on these to benefit Isuzu Truck owners and operators.”

Harbison says the brand’s approach to its customer relationship management (CRM) will help implement some of the organisation’s plans in the future.

“I have personally been working on our CRM strategy for many years now and firmly believe we do it better than any of our competitors.

“We must continue to question and test our understanding of what our customers and the industry needs and keep challenging ourselves to better our offer.

“This has got us to 30 years of market leadership and will bolster our performance into the future.”

Speaking about the importance of customer relationships, Harbison says Isuzu will continue to provide top-quality truck and engine products and comprehensive support to its customers.

“We’ve built our success on the quality of our customer relationships,” Harbison says.

“Isuzu is known for providing the best mix of product, most appropriate to the needs of Australia road transport operators, and then comprehensively supporting that product and our customers.

“IAL will continue to deliver on the fundamentals of what made us so strong, and with our partners, Australia’s largest and most professional truck dealer network, we’ll continue meeting the changing needs of our customers.

“At the heart, the role of transport will remain critical to all aspects of our daily lives and Isuzu is there to deliver.”

“A critical factor in the technology approach is data. The more informed we are, the better we can respond to develop the programs and services our customers need. Data drives business. It underpins everything.

Harbison suggests that the brand in Australia had never been in a stronger position and maintaining momentum at this point was a priority.

“It is of greater importance now to continue to challenge the status quo and to test those proven fundamentals against what we know is coming,” he says.

“To achieve continued success, we need to keep challenging ourselves.”

From March 1, 2019 the Isuzu Australia Limited board of directors comprises managing director Hiroko Yaguchi, director & chief operating officer Andrew Harbison, director of administration & chief financial officer Hiroaki Kudo, director & chief of corporate services Paul Evans, director & Isuzu Motors Limited representative Yasuyuki Niijima.

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