James Muir, 50, is to become Chairman of the Board of Management of SEAT, S.A. (Martorell) with effect from 1 September 2009.  He will succeed Erich Schmitt, 62, who joined SEAT from Audi in 2006.

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The Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, thanked Mr Schmitt for his successful commitment and stressed: ‘Erich Schmitt has achieved significant progress at SEAT.’


James Muir joins SEAT from Mazda Europe where he was President and CFO.


He started his career in the planning department of Ford UK.  From 1994 to mid-2001 he held a number of responsible positions with Ford, finally as Head of Marketing Services. Afterwards he joined Mazda Europe as Project Director before transferring to Mazda UK as Managing Director.  James Muir became Vice President Sales, with responsibility for sales at Mazda Europe in 2003, before being appointed President and CEO of Mazda Europe in 2005.


See also: GERMANY: Mazda Europe gets new boss

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