Adrian Hallmark, the standing CEO of Bentley, has been appointed by Aston Martin as their new CEO. Hallmark is expected to provide stability to the luxury car manufacturer, famously associated with James Bond, as he takes over from 77-year-old Amedeo Felisa on or before the 1st of October, announced Aston Martin. He is to be the fourth CEO under the governance of Lawrence Stroll, the executive chairman, who has been at the helm since 2020.
At 61, Hallmark has an impressive career in the automotive industry, having elevated Bentley’s earnings in his six-year tenure there by focusing on bespoke vehicles and exercising stricter control on pricing and inventory. He previously held significant posts at Porsche and Jaguar Land Rover, and is now looking forward to Aston Martin’s metamorphosis as one of the most thrilling projects in the luxury automobile arena.
Aston Martin has had to increase its funding more than once since Stroll took over four years back. Since the middle of 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, China’s Zhejiang Geely and EV manufacturer Lucid have become stakeholders in the UK-based company.
This appointment of the new CEO follows Aston Martin’s recent successful refinancing worth £1.15 billion (€1.3 billion), meant to appease investors troubled about the company’s financial health.
Hallmark, during his tenure at Bentley, played a pivotal role in the remarkable turnaround of the high-end British brand, executing cost cuts, hiking prices and focusing on customized cars. He steps into Aston Martin post-Bentley’s second-most successful year.
Highlighting Bentley’s improved performance he mentioned to reporters, “We’re now generating threefold to fourfold profits annually on slightly increased sales compared to the 2000s”.
Also notable is that Hallmark delayed the debut of Bentley’s maiden EV to late 2026 from the planned launch next year, a decision mimicking Aston Martin’s, which resulted from insufficient demand and consequently postponed the launching of its introductory battery model by a year.