Following the completion of its acquisition of Opel Ireland, the Gowan Group has confirmed that James Brooks has been appointed as Managing Director of Opel Ireland. Having spent 14 years as Managing Director at Kia Motors Ireland, Brooks brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role, replacing Gillian Whittall who is departing the company. During his tenure at Kia, James also served as Treasurer and President of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) and is also a qualified accountant.
A statement of intent
Following his confirmation as Opel Ireland's new Managing Director, James Brooks said: "I am genuinely excited by this opportunity and look forward to getting on board with Opel Ireland and meeting all the people associated with the business. The commitment made by Gowan Group in acquiring Opel Ireland represents a serious statement of intent. This is a great brand with an exciting product pipeline, a strong dealer network and customer base. We are ambitious to develop and significantly grow the brand in the months and years to come."
Gowan Group Managing Director, Michael Dwan, commented: "We are delighted to announce that James will be joining Opel Ireland as MD. He has huge experience in the Irish motor industry forged initially as Finance Director, Fleet Director and Business Development Manager at Opel Ireland for nine years and latterly as MD of Kia for 14 years. He is a highly regarded leader, and I am confident that he will lead the Opel brand back to the market position it can justifiably achieve."
The Gowan Group has been the importer and distributor of Peugeot passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Ireland for 50 years, and is also the distributor for Honda cars. The Group also has retail operations for Kia and Opel, plus servicing for Citroën under the Gowan Motors on the Navan Road in Dublin.
Other trading divisions of the Gowan Group include KAL Group, which distributes kitchen and white goods electronics with brands that include De Dietrich, Nordmende, AGA, Franke, Sharp, Elica and KitchenAid. Senator Windows is also part of the Group.