The CxO Society Show | Disruption doesn’t Discriminate with Marshall Motors Group CEO Daksh Gupta

Amidst a crippling pandemic for many industries, Marshall Motors managed to have a very strong financial year. While the market went up 8.4%, MArshall eclipsed it with 19.5%.

We are lucky enough to have their CEO Daksh Gupta along with our own Strategy and Transformation Advisor Chris Hafner on the show to discuss some of the traits of leadership that helped them to achieve that.

• Chris Hafner Strategy and Transformation Advisor for S&S
• Daksh Gupta - CEO for Marshall Motors Holding PLC
• 134 businesses representing 22 brand partners - Audi/ Volkswagen/JLR/Volvo etc
• Been CEO since 2008 - in year 14
• Chris - worked in venture capital, spun up and sold two tech businesses
• Defining vision, purpose, strategy and transformation road map

• Despite pandemic, made £21M of PBT (ahead of forecast)
• Market was up 8.4%, Marshall was up 19.5%
• Because of that, we repaid all the furlough payments claimed in 2020
• Paid back retail grants - lots of media attention because of this
• However we decided not to take management bonuses

• Businesses doing the right thing with a strong moral compass
• Consumers will move towards moving towards brands that act this way
• Leaders who set outcomes for teams to achieve - but not enforcing the ‘how’. 

• The good will and positivity that comes from ‘giving back’
• Marshall - 11 years in a row ranked as a Great Place to Work and UK Best Workplaces
• Apply good customer outcomes, you achieve shareholder value. It’s not rocket science
• Have to be transparent - monthly management conference with everything on the table
• Lead from the front and blaze the trail
• Authenticity is something you can’t manufacture - consumers will know
• You can only lead if you have followers and you can’t force them to follow you

• Automotive industry - low margin game, so it’s about service and technology, but more importantly - is this company a business for good?
• Are organisations doing the right thing from an environmental perspective?

• Lots of change going on around electric vehicles and emissions targets
• Manufacturers need to review distribution 
• Digitalisation has a huge role to play
• How to improve the customer experience when buying a car 

• It used to be pretty straight forward to figure out who your competitors were
• Broaden your thinking, start thinking about ecosystems
• Have a portfolio of options you can execute based on various futures, gives businesses the ability to pivot
• Go back to basics creates tremendous opportunities

• Grew from £300m revenue to £3bn in 14 years, IPO'd in 2014 
• Having a stable management team
• Make long term decisions for the good of the business for the long term
• Do you live your values? Integrity is a key one, hence not taking the management bonus

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