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Debra
Kelly-Ennis |
Debra Kelly-Ennis
has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer for Saab
Cars USA, effective October 1, 2002. She will report to Mikael
Eliasson, Vice President Sales and Marketing of Saab Automobile
and chairman of Saab Cars USA, Inc. Debra will be based in Norcross,
Ga.
“We
expect the largest share of Saab’s global growth to continue
to come from our single largest market – the U.S.,”
said Saab Automobile AB’s President and CEO, Peter Augustsson.
“We have a clearly defined product strategy in place beginning
with the launch of the all-new 9-3 Sport Sedan that spearheads
the arrival of an entirely new family of vehicles. We are delighted
to have Debra Kelly-Ennis join the Saab family. With her experience
in marketing, sales and driving strong business results, she is
highly qualified for the job,” he said.
Kelly-Ennis
joined GM in 1999 as the brand manager for Chevrolet S-10 trucks,
where she led the effort to revitalize one of the company’s
top three volume brands, contributing to GM’s current truck
leadership position. The responsibility included development of
strategic product plans and launch direction for the all-new 2004
Chevrolet Colorado.
She
was promoted to the position of Oldsmobile general manager in
2000. Over the past year, Kelly-Ennis has led the challenging
phase-out of Oldsmobile, including the successful redeployment
of personnel, effectively managing dealer relations and marketing
Oldsmobile products.
Darwin
Clark, GM vice president industry-dealer affairs, will assume
the added responsibility of completing the Oldsmobile phase-out.
Clark has played an integral role in the dealer transition plan
and phase out since it was announced in December 1999.
Prior
to joining General Motors, Kelly-Ennis held senior marketing,
sales and general manager positions with leading companies such
as RJR/Nabisco and Grand Metropolitan, PLC.
“Saab
has always stood for cars with great personality derived from
their unique design, powertrains, and vehicle dynamics,”
said Bob Lutz, GM Vice Chairman of Product Development. “We
see a bright and promising future for Saab. It will continue to
more effectively leverage GM’s global product development
resources and will be supported by a substantial new model plan
with the first evidence being our current launch of the all-new
9-3 Sport Sedan. Debra’s specific knowledge of the U.S. market,
and great business sense gives her solid credentials to lead the
team in the execution of Saab’s five year growth plan.”
Kelly-Ennis
earned a bachelor of science degree in education from the University
of Texas in 1979 and a master of business administration in marketing
from the University of Houston in 1981. She also completed the
executive leadership program at Harvard Business School. She is
a member of the Pulte Corporation Board of Directors - one of
the nation’s largest publicly traded home building companies
– where she serves as chairman of the nominating committee
and as a member of the audit committee. |
