New boss for Maserati and Alfa

The North American head of Maserati and Alfa Romeo has been drafted in to take over as head of both brands, effective immediately.

With the expensive and extensive critical global launch of the Alfa Romeo Giulia now over, Sergio Marchionne has pulled Harald Wester away from running the two brands and back into his former role as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) chief technical officer.

The two luxury brands will now be run by Reid Bigland, a 49-year-old Canadian (like Marchionne) who will also continue in his position as head of US and Canadian sales for FCA.

The 58-year-old Wester was drafted in to lead the two brands at a critical time in their histories, and delivered the rebirth plans for both. He was critical in the development of the current Quattroporte, Ghibli and Levante crossover, and leaves with both the two-seat Alfieri and the replacement for the GranTurismo and GranCabrio largely developed.

The well-respected engineer has been at the forefront of engineering in companies like Magna-Steyr and BMW before moving to the upper echelons of Fiat management in 2004.

“I am thankful for the work Harald has carried out in the last few years establishing a sound technical framework for our two premium brands, and which has culminated in the recent launch of the Maserati Levante and the Alfa Romeo Giulia,” Marchionne said.

“It is time now for our efforts to be directed toward the global commercial expansion of these two brands, and I can think of no-one better than Reid to fulfill that mission,” he concluded.