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| Finbarr O’Neill |
Finbarr O’Neill resigned yesterday as co-chairman and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America.
Dealership software company Reynolds and Reynolds Co. said yesterday that O’Neill had joined the company as president and CEO. He will also serve on the company’s board of directors.
O’Neill, who joined MMNA in September 2003 after turning around Hyundai Motor America as its president and CEO, had just predicted a positive future for MMNA as he unveiled the 2006 Eclipse coupe and Raider light-truck models on Monday.
“While we have faced challenging times in the last year, all the pieces are in place for future growth, starting with stunning products,” O’Neill said in a statement. “And consumers are rediscovering us. In turn, we are rediscovering them and developing a much deeper understanding of our target audience’s wants and needs.”
O’Neill is the second high-ranking executive to leave MMNA in the past six weeks. Ian Beavis, the senior VP-marketing, product and public relations at Mitsubishi Motors, resigned in November for personal reasons (PROMO Xtra, Nov. 30).
Beavis’s resignation came shortly after the automaker hired Bob Martin to the new post of director-brand marketing. Martin worked alongside O’Neill at Hyundai Motor America.
Though December was MMNA’s best retail sales month since August, Michael Tocci, senior VP-sales, fleet and distribution, said yesterday in a statement that its year-end 2004 sales were down 37% compared to 2003.
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