Holden chief quits

GM Holden Chairman and Managing Director, Gerry Dorizas, has resigned from the top position at the Australian car manufacturer after less than eight months in the job.

He is the fifth Holden chief to steer the company in the last four years, and his resignation means he will not oversee the cessation of the company's Australian manufacturing facilities in Victoria and South Australia at the end 2017.

Dorizas famously told journalists that Holden would "go back to number one" by 2020, observing that GM would more than double its sales and knock off Toyota as the number one brand in Australia in six years' time.

It will remain to be seen if his successor maintains the ambitious 2020 plan. Jeff Rolfs, GM Holden Chief Financial Officer, will fill-in as Holden's interim managing director until a replacement is found.

Dorizas took up the role as GM Holden MD on March 1, 2014 and resigned on October 28, 2014. His predecessor, Mike Devereux, held the job between early 2010 and late 2013, but before him Alan Batey, Mark Reuss and Chris Gubbey managed the company for less than three years collectively.

The top job at Holden is more often than not a springboard to more important roles within the global GM hierarchy – Reuss and Batey both hold top positions in the US now – but Dorizas will not continue to work with GM. He will leave to "pursue other opportunities, effective immediately," according to an official press statement released by Holden today.

GM Executive Vice President and President of GM International, Stefan Jacoby, publicly praised Dorizas' work during his short time at Holden: "We thank Gerry for his contribution to GM Holden and wish him well in his future endeavours.

"The foundation has been built to transform GM Holden in Australia, and we are determined to maintain momentum to continue to push towards our strategic objectives," said Jacoby.

"General Motors is 100 per cent committed to the Holden brand and its long term success in Australia. We’re focused on winning with customers in Australia and New Zealand, and are moving quickly to name the right leader to drive our brand and business to the next level," he added.

Holden's Senior Manager of Corporate Communications, Sean Poppitt, would not say why Dorizas left the company, saying only that "Gerry’s departure will not change our goals or business strategy. Our commitment to that is unwavering."

It has been a big day of staff movements in the Australian automotive industry, with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia CEO Veronica Johns also announcing her departure for "personal reasons", in this case on December 31 after 16 years with the business. A replacement is yet to be named.

Earlier today, Fiat Chrysler's Director of Corporate Affairs, Karla Leach, also announced her resignation, and will be replaced by former BMW public relations staffer, Lucy McLellan.

Meantime, Andrew Moore, General Manager – Automobile at Suzuki, has taken the reins as principal media contact in the wake of the departure of long-standing PR manager Andrew Ellis, while Peugeot and Citroen have a new Public Relations and Communications executive -- former Lexus Australia spokesman and Project Group account manager Tyson Bowen.