Who got that job?

By LIANE VOISEY

Were you one of the 35 people who applied for this job and wondered who got it?

Job title: General manager sales, Continental Car Services

Customers are passionate about their vehicles, says Michael Stuart, because their vehicles make a statement about who they are and how they portray themselves. Stuart, 43, says he's always had a passion about cars too, and the people within the industry.

Having graduated with a bachelor in engineering from Auckland University, majoring in aerodynamics, Stuart admits he could easily be working in wind tunnels right now, but an interest in car design and aerodynamics changed all that.

He got on Ford New Zealand's graduate trainee programme, which introduced him to the manufacturing side of car assembly. "It was the early 80s, before the assembly industry in New Zealand shut down," says Stuart.

After six years he moved out of engineering and into marketing, sales and service within Ford.

Transferred to Ford Australia, Stuart spent the previous five years working as sales manager for the business centre at Ford Australia in Melbourne. "It was a national role selling Ford products with direct relationships with large fleets of clients," he says.

Stuart was attracted to the job at Continental Car Services because of a respect for the brand, and his skill set built over 22 years working at Ford proved to be an ideal match for them.

"I've covered everything from manufacturing, customer service, product strategy, marketing and sales," he says.

Stuart is also pleased to be back at home in Auckland.

"I love it - I grew up here and my family are here."

At Continental Car Services business couldn't be better, and Stuart wants to build on that.

"The customer is the focus of everything we do and it's a matter of ensuring consistent quality of service and building relationships with our customers."

Stuart looks forward to building an even stronger team of people at the company, building relationships with customers and growing the business. "We've grown enormously in three years and we'll continue to grow in the coming years."