Arkadiusz Mietkiewicz

Building a Dealer Network in Poland of a new German electric car brand ElectricBrands with a family of electric driven XBUS with a driving range up-to 800 km.

Preparation, within the international team of the Polish-American-Japanese, of the production of electric buses project, including a selection of strategic suppliers, e-bus base, the e-bus with European approval received, for further development and domestication, preparation of the factory as well as the R&D and production personnel in Lublin. Carrying out the European market analysis, feasibility study, Business Plan and looking for funding.

Management of the Importer Company - distribution of Jaguar Land Rover brands in Poland in the scope of car sales as well as spare parts and accessories, financial results, a dealer network (12 points of sale and service), marketing and after-sales service. Construction of new areas of activity in the field of fleet sales, used cars, introduction of the CRM into the network as a tool for increasing car sales and efficiency into a management process, enforcement of new JLR architecture standards in all dealerships. Development and implementation of training programs. Everyday work to increase business efficiency and profitability. Business planning and long-term strategy. Tripled sales of cars within 3 years from 1.2 to 3.5 thousand in 2018 and doubled sales of spare parts during the period. Close relations with the Jaguar Land Rover Headquarters in Frankfurt. Cooperation with the British Embassy, the British Polish Chamber of Commerce, the Polish Automotive Industry Association, etc.

Management of activity of the exclusive Aston Martin dealer in Poland. Selection and development of personnel, supervision over the organization of the showroom and workshop as well as daily customer service. Preparation and implementation of annual budgets. Cooperation with the factory in Gaydon and the headquarters for Europe in Frankfurt. Coordination of planning and design works of a new facility in Warsaw.

Joint-stock company – the holding corporation dealing mainly with the distribution and service of the JLR Importer and the JLR and AML dealer group. Acquisition for the group of the SsangYong distribution and the “Surprice” rent a car franchise. Management of investor relations, information policy, etc.

Ursus S.A. listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange & Ursus Bus S.A. (the daughter co.) I joined the Ursus Bus' electric bus production project (over 50 e-buses made in 2018) in order to expand production and sales. The existing, difficult financial situation of the company forced a change of priorities, from the reorganization of production, sales and competitive struggle on the market to the search for sources of financing. Preparation of a restructuring plan with a team of financial advisors and handing over management to a financial expert.

Introduction to the market, presentation to media and municipal transport operators a product of the leader in the production of electric buses and solutions related to the electrification of mass transport vehicles - a 12-meter electric K9 electric bus of BYD. A won tender for the supply of 10 electric buses to MZA Warsaw. Four e-buses delivered for long-term tests in Warsaw, Cracow and other cities.

Developing a strategy and introducing the Chinese brand of vehicles to the Ukrainian market as a pilot program for further expansion into Europe. Supervision over the organization of a dedicated company. Commercial negotiations with the BYD Auto manufacturer in Shenzhen. Cooperation with banks in the field of financing. Cooperation with local authorities in the development of an ecological automotive program for the use of BYD cars and electric buses: e6 and e-bus K9. Achievement of the third place among Chinese brands (for a dozen or so players) after two years of operation thanks to the sale of 1,600 units and getting 1% market share in 2014. Winning the title of the fastest growing brand from the Ukrainian Association of Importers and Car Dealers. Preparation of the IMC-Group's strategy for the expansion of Chinese automotive brands in Ukraine and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Contacts with many Chinese car manufacturers. Several letters of intent and agreements signed to introduce new brands in Europe. The projects were temporarily suspended after the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the beginning of the war in the Donbas region.

A group of companies that started cooperation with SEAT Volkswagen Group, in the field of import and distribution in Poland in the early 1990's. After achieving spectacular successes with SEAT's products and image on the domestic market, with over 3% market share (2nd best result in Europe after the domestic Spain with Portugal) and annual sales of 13,000. In 1999, I started to open import and dealer companies for SEAT in Eastern Europe: Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus and Russia. In the meantime, the IMCG was developing, in which I had an active part, many different business lines, such as: car retail (own dealer network of SEAT, followed by multi -brand), storage and logistics of cars in Zegrze, logistics centre in Rawa Maz., insurance and financial services, import and distribution of Harley-Davidson, Sixt car rental, import and distribution of Recaro seats, etc. In early 2000, IMCG began to explore the Chinese automotive, machine and lighting industries to distribute products in Europe, crowned with numerous executions, primarily import and distribution of BYD Auto in Ukraine. I joined the organization during its beginnings in 1993 and successfully combined its expansion with personal professional development. I went the way from the assistant to CEO in various holding companies in different countries: Poland, Ukraine and Russia. At the same time, I was the Chairman or Member of Supervisory Boards of many companies, including dealers: Oscaro Motorai in Lithuania and Progress Motors in Belarus, US Motor - the importer and distributor of Harley-Davidson in Poland, Sixt Rent a Car, First Truck International - importer of the Russian GAZ, and then the British LDV, Fermata - logistics and car storage, Ukrainian Financial Services - broker in car financing and insurance, Auto-Barcelona - the largest SEAT dealer in PL and in other dealerships.

Analysis of the Ukrainian market. Feasibility study. Negotiations with SEAT S.A. Development of a business plan. Preparation and organization of the company. Successful introduction of the SEAT brand to Ukraine in 2002. Achieving sales at the level of 3.5 thousand before the global financial crisis in 2008. Preparation and introduction of the SKD production system of the Cordoba model in 2007-2008 at the Eurocar factory in Transcarpathia. Expanded network of 25 dealers. Developed a great image and brand awareness. Distribution of the SEAT brand in Ukraine taken over as part of centralization by the VW Group in 2012.

Analysis of the Russian car market. Feasibility study. A business plan approved by SEAT S.A. Company registration and organization. Recruitment of the key personnel. Successful premiere of SEAT in Russia in 2007, after two unsuccessful attempts made by an independent Russian importer, and then by Volkswagen Group Rus. A professional dealer network of 20 dealers. Historically, the best sales results and market share. Excellent results in building image and brand awareness. The distribution of SEAT in Russia was taken over by Volkswagen Group as part of the distribution centralization in Europe in 2011.

Import and distribution of the Russian GAZ MCV Gazelle followed by English LDV MCV Maxus. Business closed due to lack of development of the GAZ vehicles and after bancrupcy of LDV.

CEO [2003 – 2005], starting from Assistant Dealer Network Development, Manager Marketing & Dealer Network after two years from the work’s beginning, then Director Sales & Marketing & Vice President. Sales: planning and execution of sales, coordination of fleet sales and used cars, direct contacts with key customers. Negotiations with SEAT S.A. and dealers of annual sales budgets. Implementation of sales strategy. Logistics’ management. Achieving the sales level of 13,000 cars in 1999, taking the historically highest 8th position on the market and the largest market share in Europe, outside the home market of Spain and Portugal. Dealer network: quantity - conducting negotiations with candidates for dealers and their nomination, extending the network to 50 dealers - with a 100% coverage rate of the country. Quality - introduction of the Corporate Identity program and architectural standardization, organization of trainings in sales techniques, product development and market analysis. Marketing: preparation of annual marketing plans, market research, competitive analysis, cooperation with advertising agencies in the development and implementation of advertising campaigns, organization of automotive events and fairs, cooperation with the SEAT Marketing Institute and the SEAT Overseas Division in Barcelona, public relations management. Financial results: creation and execution of business plans. Achieving effective financial results, in the best periods earning a gross profit of 10% of revenues.