Finally it seems Lotus is ready to recover from the damage caused by Dany Bahar and move on forward with a new CEO. After they fired Bahar the company went into a sort of hibernation and pretty much idled for quite a while. Now Jean-Marc Gales is coming aboard as the new Lotus CEO to get things going again.

Born in Luxemburg and holding a MSc in Management from London’s Imperial College, and a MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany, Gales is known man in the auto industry, having held important positions including President of Automobiles Citroen and Automobiles Peugeot between 2009 and 2012, and Chief Executive Officer of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (“CLEPA”) since 2012.

This move by Lotus owner Proton, itself a member of DRB-HICOM Group, is the exact opposite of what they did a few years ago with hiring Bahar. That man was a celebrity in the industry and had come to Lotus from Ferrari. Obviously that didn’t work out well. So this time they picked someone from the low-end of the industry with no penchant for glamour and glitter.

PROTON Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Abdul Harith Abdullah is pleased to welcome Gales to the Group. “This is an exciting time for Lotus, and Jean-Marc’s appointment could not have come at a more appropriate time, especially taking into account our plans for Lotus. We believe that with his strong technical and managerial expertise and leadership, Jean-Marc will be able to drive the Lotus transformation plan and further enhance Lotus’ business and capabilities.”