Starting August 1, Ford Philippines will have its new Managing Director Bertrand Lessard. Lessard replaces outgoing Lance Mosley, who stayed for 2 years in the Philippines after 6 years in the Asia Pacific region.

 

His role is to continue drive Ford’s momentum in the Philippines, which included the company’s all-time best quarterly sales performance reported earlier this month.

In his previous work, Lessard was appointed interim managing director at Ford France in March 2016. He helped Ford maintain its firm position as the number two imported brand in the market, as well as to oversee the launch of the Mustang, which has become the country’s best-selling sports car.

Prior to this, Lessard served as general sales director at Ford France and general manager at Ford Canada (Quebec Region) for four years, where he was responsible for operations in province, including overseeing a network of 80 Ford dealers. 

He started his career as a service technician at Ford dealership in his home province of Quebec, Canada in 1976, and soon after became warranty claims analyst in Ontario in 1984. In 1985, he returned to the Quebec regional office and served in various roles in after-sales, sales and then as assistant regional sales director. In 1994, Lessard was appointed director of advertising for the dealer network at Ford Canada’s Oakville headquarters and was responsible for all Ford corporate advertising in Canada.

In 1995, Lessard moved to Dubai to take on the role of marketing director at Ford Middle East, and within a year was promoted to regional director and vice president of Ford’s Direct Markets in the Middle East, overseeing operations in nine countries. In 1997, Lessard served as sales and marketing director, Ford Vietnam, where he successfully established a formal sales and distribution network in the market.

Lessard earned a diploma in business administration from HEC in Montréal, followed by an internship in International Marketing in Hong Kong before earning his MBA in International Marketing from HEC Montréal.

*Photo Credit: (Primary photo courtesy of Cedric Lecocq)