Ashok Leyland's UK arm Optare has stregthened its team by roping in a former senior official from Swedish auto giant Scania. The bus manufacturer has appointed Colin Blunt, 48 as sales team with new Regional Sales Manager for the North of England and Scotland.
It may be noted, early this month the company appointed Enrico Vassallo as the CEO of the company. He was former senior representative at Iveco Irisbus, one of the leading bus company globally.
Blunt joins Optare from Scania and brings with him experience in the bus, coach and commercial vehicle sector both from a technical and a commercial perspective.
More From This Section
His most recent post at Scania was as body liaison manager working with the sales team and customers to develop specifications for the company’s bus and coach products. He has also held positions at MAN in after-sales and early in his career he gained invaluable hands-on engineering experience working as a Bus and Coach Technician at Scania’s Worksop site.
Colin hails from the Rossendale Valley in East Lancashire and studied engineering at Accrington and Rossendale College. Whilst working for a local Scania dealer he undertook a three year Master Technician training course with the company.
Speaking of his appointment, Optare’s Sales Director, John Horn commented that his experience covers not only new vehicle sales but also the vitally important aspect of after-sales support.
“His strong understanding of the needs of bus operators and in-depth practical and technical knowledge will undoubtedly prove of value in explaining the many advantages of our low carbon, low weight products to operators across the region,” he added.