BMW of North America has announced new appointments within its senior management team at the company’s corporate headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, NJ. All leadership changes take effect on July 1, 2019.
Michael Peyton, current vice president of BMW Motorrad of the Americas, will become vice president of MINI of the Americas, responsible for the business operations of the MINI brand in both North and South America.
Peyton replaces Thomas Felbermair, who is returning to Germany to take on a new role as vice president sales and marketing BMW M GmbH at BMW Group headquarters in Munich.
Peyton’s automotive career spans more than three decades, beginning with Ford Motor Company where he spent 17 years serving in several sales and marketing roles for Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. He then joined Harley-Davidson Motor Company where he stayed for 10 years in various leadership positions including working as the head of U.S. dealer development for the Americas region, his last role before coming to the BMW Group in 2016.
Trudy Hardy will assume Peyton’s previous post as vice president of BMW Motorrad of the Americas. In her new position, Hardy will be responsible for all BMW Motorrad operations in both North and South America, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Latin America Direct Market Operations. Since 2013, she has served as vice president of marketing for BMW of North America.
Hardy has been an avid motorcycle rider over the course of her more than 20-years in the industry. She began her career with the BMW Group in 2001 as one of the original team members responsible for launching the MINI brand in the U.S. Since then, Hardy has led marketing in various departments across the company from aftersales to MINI and BMW, responsible for brand strategy, positioning, product management and communications.
Hardy’s successor will be announced at a later date.
Both Peyton and Hardy will report directly to Bernhard Kuhnt, president and CEO of BMW of North America, and serve as members of the company’s executive management team.
“The U.S. plays a big role for the BMW Group globally, serving as a critical market for each of our brands, including MINI and Motorrad,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, president and CEO of BMW of North America. “Michael and Trudy both have a proven track record of innovation and transformation. With this new team leading these core brands, we can continue to build our foundation for the future, keeping our dealers and customers at the heart of what we do. We’d also like to thank Thomas for his contributions and wish him continued success in his new role.”
