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Aston Martin has announced the appointment of Michael van der Sande into the company’s newly created position of “Chief Commercial Officer”. The new recruit will be based at Aston Martin’s headquarters in Gaydon, in the UK, and will have to report directly to CEO Dr Ulrich Bez. Van der Sande will also be part of Aston Martin’s board of management.

Bez said van der Sande's broad experience on the global stage “will help us to further develop Aston Martin's presence around the world."

Van der Sande joins Aston Martin from Tesla Motors, but is perhaps more well-known for his twelve years with Harley Davidson, where he held a variety of senior roles in marketing, dealer development, product development and commercial operations. His most recent role was as the chief of the motorcycle company in Europe.

In his new role as Chief Commercial Officer Aston Martin, he will take responsibility for all commercial areas to further develop and strengthen these key areas of the business.

Van der Sande, aged 44, is a Dutch native and currently holds a racing license. Hopefully his passion for racing transfers into Aston Martin’s operations, both in the production and motorsport side of things.

The next couple of years are very important for Aston Martin as the company continues to execute an ambitious model roll-out during one of the worst periods in the entire history of the automotive industry. The global economic recession has made a dent on Aston Martin but the company is still planning three all-new models, as well as several important updates for its current range. Click here for more details about the trio of new models.