Interesting move by Hyundai Motor America as it announces that Steve Shannon has been hired as its new vice president of marketing.
On a couple occasions I met Shannon when he was working for Saab (a company still trying to find its way unfortunately since being kicked to the curb by GM) and came to visit the New England Motor Press Association in Boston where I am the vice president (of NEMPA, not Boston). He struck me as a good guy and a real car guy.
Hyundai president John Krafcik had this telling statement to make about Shannon, "He's a marketing innovator with strong convictions about serving the customer. At the same time he's personable, enthusiastic and professional – a perfect fit for us at Hyundai."
Of course John is going to say Shannon is a marketing innovator. You're not going to hire somebody who goes with the flow. The interesting comment was that Shannon is personable, enthusiastic and professional. When's the last time you read that in a press release?
Those are words you could easily use to describe Krafcik himself. I would even say that about some of the engineering types I have talked to.
Shannon has a lot of GM experience and there seems to be a bit of a revolving door between the two companies. Joel Ewanick, who was in the marketing role, left to go work at Nissan before becoming Chief Marketing Officer for GM and took some talent with him (including Chris Perry who left in August to become head of Chevrolet marketing). Phil Zak came over from GM to work for Hyundai as its head designer in the U.S.
Krafcik said in the news release announcing the hire that Shannon did a good job kick-starting Cadillac's resurgence. Hyundai is on record as swearing up and down it is not going to have a luxury nameplate (a la Lexus) but bringing Shannon on board seems to indicate it's going to ratchet up the marketing of its luxury vehicles.
Something else that is a good fit for the brand is Shannon had experience marketing Saturn. Remember when Saturn used to be a car people bought for its sense of community and great dealership experience – and not just because it was transportation? Hyundai still needs work on its dealership experience in some parts so Shannon could really push Hyundai to even greater successes if he can get customers feeling those old Saturn vibes about shopping at Hyundai.
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