TVS Motor Company has announced the appointment of Dr. Robert Hentschel as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Vittorio Urciuoli as Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of The Norton Motorycle Co. Ltd. The appointment of the new leadership team of Norton Motorcycles forms the next key phase of the historic motorcycle brand's transformation, 'as it builds on its newly re-established foundations and prepares for the revitalisation of the brand for the future,' a press statement from TVS Motor Company said. Hentschel and Urciuoli will take up their new positions as John Russell steps down from his role as Interim CEO.
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Norton Motorcycles recently moved to a new state-of-the-art factory and corporate headquarters, after TVS acquired the British brand
Dr Robert Hentschel joins Norton from Valmet Automotive Holding GmbH & Co KG, where he has served as Managing Director since 2017. Before that, he headed Ricardo Deutschland and Hentschel System and was also Director of Lotus Engineering. Vittorio Urciuoli's former key roles within the global automotive industry include Director of URVI LTD, Head of Powertrain at Lotus Cars and Project Leader at Ferrari and Aprilia Racing.
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New Norton factory gets state-of-the-art equipment
Sudarshan Venu, Joint Managing Director of TVS Motors, said: "TVS has created a plan for Norton to transform into the future. The brand will retain its core values which will be interpreted in a modern way for the customers of today and tomorrow. As part of this we are excited to welcome on board a new management team led by Robert to lead this next phase of the journey.
"His passion for customers, brands and the future of mobility will be of immense value to Norton. Vittorio has a tremendous commitment and track record of creating world class products, which is key to the future of the brand. Both of them are strong engineers with pedigree on the world stage. Along with the entire TVS team, I look forward to working together with them for the revitalisation of one of the world's most storied brands.
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"Over the last 12 months, we have ensured that our clear strategy for the transformation of Norton has been delivered with significant improvements to the product and the creation of a world class manufacturing facility in record time. Now, Norton is ready to move to the next phase of its journey."
Interim CEO John Russell was appointed after India's TVS Motor Company acquired Norton Motorcycles in 2020
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank John Russell for his accomplished leadership, experienced judgement and clear vision that he has displayed during his time as interim CEO of Norton. Under John's tenure, with investment and support from TVS, Norton has returned to a firm footing and made marked improvements to engineering and product quality, which will be seen in the updated V4SS that will be launched soon. In addition, we have established a new, state-of-the-art global design, engineering, manufacturing and sales and marketing HQ in Solihull. Thanks to John and many other colleagues' exceptional endeavour, Norton is poised to move to the next stage of its rebirth and deliver significant growth."
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India's TVS Motor Company acquired British motorcycle brand Norton in April 2020 for GBP 16 million. Shortly after TVS acquired Norton, Russell was appointed to stabilise the company and create a platform that now enables Norton to begin making and delivering advanced technology motorcycles worthy of the iconic marque to a growing global customer base.
