Bentley Announces New Leadership Team for North American Market

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Aug. 28, 2007 -- Bentley are pleased to confirm the appointment of two key individuals to lead North America, the company's biggest market.

In addition to his role as Worldwide Operations Director, Geoff Dowding, 47, will also assume the position of Vice President, Bentley Motors, Inc. Geoff has been with Bentley for the last seven years and has held a number of senior executive roles. Before this he worked at Porsche and Harley-Davidson.

Christophe Georges, 40, will take up the position of Chief Operating Officer for Bentley Motors, Inc. based in the U.S. A native of France, Christophe has extensive experience of the Bentley marque having worked in various roles for the past nine years. He is currently Managing Director for Bentley Europe, based in Berlin.

During his time in the Berlin office Christophe has presided over a 20-fold increase in Bentley sales and has been responsible for the introduction of the marque to six new markets including the fast growing Russian market. Christophe was instrumental in guiding the investment plans of all 34 European dealers over the past five years.

Prior to his Bentley career Christophe worked in sales operations for Rover Europe.

Commenting on these appointments Stuart McCullough, Member of the Board, Sales & Marketing for Bentley said, "North America is our biggest market by a considerable margin and by appointing two executives with such a wealth of Bentley experience we are confident of further strengthening our brand image and retail network. Geoff's role will ensure a strong link between our U.S. operations and our Crewe factory, which will ensure the needs of our American customers and dealers are properly represented.

Christophe's focus on customer service and his considerable experience in reshaping our European business will be critical in helping us further build on our recent successes in the U.S. market."

Geoff Dowding's appointment will take place with immediate effect. Christophe George's formal appointment date will be announced in due course.