Dany Bahar of Lotus Interview With Jetset Magazine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PMB 353 Scottsdale, Arizona, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) February 15, 2012 -- By Kevin Whipps
Interview By Emmanuel Lupe
Dany Bahar has been tasked with some pretty big jobs in his career. Recently, he was the head of the corporate projects business team for the popular energy drink company Red Bull, and then he moved on to Ferrari, where he was the senior vice president for brand management. It's quite the pedigree for a man who's just 38 years old, and now he has some pretty big shoes to fill as the CEO of Lotus.

Although the company has seen its share of success, it's never quite caught on in the United States, mostly because of the niche vehicles that made up its product line. But all that is about to change with Bahar at the helm, and Lotus is set to make a big splash in the automotive scene in the upcoming years.

Jetset sat down with Bahar to discuss his career, what it's like racing fast cars, and what the future holds for the legendary British automobile company.

How did you get started in the business?
My first proper job was in the financial sector at an asset management company, and I moved from an asset management company to a drink company called Red Bull, and from there I moved to a car company called Ferrari, and from Ferrari I moved to Lotus.

How did you get selected to become the CEO of Lotus?

You know, the sports car industry is a very small community, and you meet each other every few weeks and months in the motor shows around the world. Then obviously the owners of Lotus have spoken to us many times, and so we got closer, and then one day we said, "Why don't we try it?" And that was it. Very simple, actually. No big preparation time in between. Very spontaneous.

What was your most significant mission when you got hired?
My most significant mission was actually to put in place a team that believes in this brand and actually is capable to deliver what we promise to deliver.

A great selection of your management team comes from Ferrari. Why do you think they wanted to follow you to Lotus?

Not only Ferrari — many people came from Mercedes, from Porsche, from Bentley, from Aston Martin. But, from Ferrari in particular, I think they've seen how I worked at Ferrari. I believe they realized or relied on my judgment that a venture — such as the opportunity that we have at Lotus — will not come again in [their] career. And I believe that the people that are chosen to follow me are also in the same character. They are all hands-on people, and they all are people who want to make a difference in their professional lives. I guess they were intrigued about the proposal to say, "Let's try to turn around a very iconic British sports car company."

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