12:05 pm, January 26, 2024
Eastern Western Motor Group has brought in a major restructure of management across its Nissan division.
The strategic move has been made as the group readies itself for a busy year, with the key change being the expansion of the general manager team across its five Nissan dealerships in Scotland.
There are now four general managers: David Aitken at Western Edinburgh (Newbridge), Drew Guthrie at Barnetts Dundee and Western Fife, Neil Johnson at Western Edinburgh (Straiton) and James McFarlane at Western Stirling.
Aitken – formerly sales manager at Straiton – follows in the footsteps of Andrew Oag, who is now Nissan franchise director for the whole of Eastern Western.
Before the restructure, Guthrie and Johnson looked after two sites each. Guthrie will continue to head up Dundee and Fife but Johnson will move from his duties in Stirling to focus solely on Straiton, which has seen business boom.
McFarlane moves from his role as service manager at Newbridge to become Johnson’s Stirling replacement.
Meanwhile, Neil Burgess will continue as aftersales general manager across Eastern Western’s Nissan and Mazda dealerships.
Announcing the changes to staff, Oag thanked his ‘fantastic’ Nissan dealer colleagues for their support during the first year in his new role as Nissan franchise director, which saw him replace John La Trobe, who joined the board last year.
He added: ‘Please join me in wishing our four general managers the very best of luck for the future, and congratulating James and David on their well-deserved promotions within the company.
‘I know you will all embrace these senior management changes, which are being made to improve our businesses, build resilience and strengthen our performance during 2024 and beyond.’
A wider restructure of personnel across the division also sees the following changes:
- Paul Lovett becomes used car sales manager at Newbridge to work alongside Cezar Skrzypinski, who will focus on new cars
- Brent Fraser takes over as sales manager in Fife
- George Ross joins Eastern Western to become general sales manager at Dundee
- Angus Gillon, currently sales controller at Newbridge, will become van centre sales controller for Eastern Western’s entire Nissan division
- Louise Morris, formerly service manager at Fife, recently moved to the Stirling dealership
- Rebecca McCleave, senior service adviser at Fife, has been promoted to take Louise Morris’s place
Oag said: ‘I am very excited about the year ahead – these role changes will help our already successful Nissan dealerships hit new heights in 2024.
‘I wish everyone involved all the very best and we can look forward to a bright future together.’
Eastern Western’s state-of-the-art Nissan showrooms serve the Lothians, the Central Region, Fife and Tayside.
Nissan ended 2023 on a high with the Juke being named Best Small Used Car at the Car Dealer Magazine Used Car Awards.
Pictured at top from left are Neil Johnson, Neil Burgess, David Aitken, Drew Guthrie, James McFarlane and Andrew Oag
