Luminary Advisory Partners (LAP), launched in London earlier this year, announces its global expansion with further appointments representing new specialisms, specific regional coverage and expertise now offered across Europe, India, China and the Middle-East.
Joining as Partner for the China region is Mark Stanton – a world-renowned Automotive Product Development and Engineering expert and business leader. He brings more than four decades of experience in developing exciting and segment-leading products. His expertise has been showcased as Engineering excellence in products for Ford, Jaguar Land Rover and most recently at Human Horizons. Mark has been instrumental in building the Human Horizon’s brand ‘HiPhi’ as Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer. His expertise will help clients of LAP in developing world class products and technologies, and also support LAP’s growth in the Chinese market.
Joining as Partner for the India region is Rajeev Agrawal, who is an expert in Product Strategy and Planning and has helped several brands excel in market positioning. He has worked extensively in the South-East Asia and Asia Pacific regions with recognised Automotive OEMs including Mahindra, Tata, General Motors and Stellantis. His knowledge and expertise of these regions make him a perfect Partner for the growing Indian market.
Joining as Partner for Europe is Michael van der Sande. Michael is a seasoned CEO/CMO/CCO who has lead the global and regional growth of some of the most distinguished automotive brands including Bentley, Harley Davidson, Tesla, Aston Martin, Alpine, Jaguar Land Rover and Lucid. Following a 30-year executive career, Michael now advises companies worldwide from his base in Amsterdam. With deep expertise in business growth, leadership, product strategy and brand management, he is particularly interested in helping companies achieve pricing power and sustainable profitability. As Partner for Europe, Michael’s detailed knowledge of the European market will help LAP grow in this critical geography.
Ralph Debbas joins as Partner for the Middle-East. He is the founder and CEO of the Middle-East’s only home-grown automotive group, W Motors, which is headquartered in Dubai, UAE. With a background in automotive design, Ralph spearheaded the creation of the Lykan HyperSport that featured as the hero car in Universal Studios’ Fast and Furious 7. W Motors has since expanded into design, development, engineering and manufacturing of hypercars, security vehicles and commercial vehicles. Ralph has carved a distinguished position in the Mobility industry in the Middle-East region and has won many prestigious awards for his efforts and commitment to the industry.
Additionally, Geoff Dowding and Jolyon Nash join the London office as Partners. Geoff has spent over 40 years at the forefront of automotive sales, aftersales, retail network and market development, representing brands including Bentley, Lotus, Porsche and Harley-Davidson. He was COO of the substantial UAE based Al Habtoor Motors automotive retail and distributor group, overseeing a staff of 1400 and the operations of seven brands ranging from Bugatti, Bentley and McLaren to FUSO brand commercial vehicles and PSVs (Passenger Service Vehicle).
Jolyon is a highly acclaimed global sales and marketing leader in the luxury and premium automotive industry. His expertise, experience and drive helped grow the McLaren Cars business by 230% over seven year and the Rolls-Royce Cars business by 350% over five years. He has worked extensively in internation markets, especially South Africa where he spent a significant part of his career developing the Volkswagen and BMW brands. He is an advisor to companies in the automotive and marine space where his experience continues to help businesses grow and succeed.
As strategic advisors and partners for Board members and Executive management teams, LAP operates globally in the ever-changing environments surrounding the automotive, future mobility, technology, luxury and lifestyle sectors. The team’s deep experience covers all aspects of Brand and Product Strategy, Business and Organisational Development and the Customer Journey.
Luminary’s offering encompasses an Advisory Board service, Strategic Consultancy and a variety of Special Projects in the group’s specialist fields. The group’s strategic partners include AIH Group – the global industrialisation, supply chain and logistics specialists; Lynxeye – the international strategy and insights brand consultancy; and the Influence specialist communications agency group – global leaders in automotive, vehicle technology and e-mobility PR. Luminary’s back-catalogue of experiences includes senior leadership at global businesses from Rolls-Royce to Sunseeker, Geely to JCB, Manchester United to Shell, Harley-Davidson to BAE Systems, IBM to SmithKline Beecham and many more.
For more information visit www.luminary-advisory.com, follow us at Linkedin and meet the team here.
The convergence of tech and brands 