“The automotive industry gets in your blood,” says Scott Grant, COO of Hyundai Motor Company Australia. “I enjoy the people and the culture, dealers, customers, and dealing with the media. There’s a whole range of aspects that come into play in the automotive industry which make it quite different from other industries, and each day is challenging.”
Grant joined the automotive industry nearly thirty years ago, with a position at Toyota. He spent the next twenty years there across twelve different roles, including time working with Lexus and a period of four years for the company in Los Angeles. When he left Toyota, Grant moved to Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) in Melbourne. From there, he took a break from automotive to work in the mining industry for three years, which he says refreshed his management perspective, and he then ran his own business while completing an MBA.
About two years ago, Grant stepped back into the automotive industry when he joined Hyundai Motor Company Australia. It was at a pivotal time for the enterprise, having just surpassed 100,000 sales of new cars per year. That six-figure number was a significant milestone for the company, operating in what is considered to be one of the most competitive car markets in the world, where around sixty car brands compete for a share of Australia’s relatively small 1.1-million total new vehicle market.
This growth has stabilised, and Hyundai has seen more than 100,000-per-year sales for several consecutive years.
“My focus now is on developing the team and the management process, and creating leaders of the future,” he says. “In this capacity, I have a much bigger influence over the development of our people and, ultimately, our business through those people.”