Story & Photos by Patrick P. Tulfo
FORD Group Phils. recently introduced its new managing director Bertrand Lessard, or simply “Bert”, at the company’s meet and greet luncheon held at the familiar Aracama restaurant at the Bonifacio Global City.
Lessard takes over the reins from Lance Mosley, who has hardly warmed his seat as the head of Ford Philippines when he was replaced. But Lessard quickly dispelled the rumors though on Mosley’s abrupt departure by stating that “it was a normal executive movement implemented by the company from time to time”.
Lessard, a Canadian by birth, has been with Ford since he started his career in the automotive biz. He shared important bits of information about his life and career specifically on how he got his first job in a local Ford dealership in his native Canada right after getting a degree in auto mechanics.
But his story back further when he intimated his wonderful childhood days back in the day. His parents built a restaurant and a car-service station in their garage to feed the brood of nine children and how his older brothers played a major role on his love affair with the automobiles. At a very young age, he was already helping his elder siblings at the shop by washing cars every Saturday.
The fascinating childhood that he had, most especially on his involvement with cars, particularly Ford, he first learned how to drive and that gave him a clearer vision on what he wanted to do in the future. He said, “It became a dream to work with a car manufacturer someday, as everyone was talking about cars during those days, and getting a driver’s license was not a license but a freedom permit, and you can go away with the vehicle like you never did before.”
His story is one for the books, as he literally rose from ranks, starting out as a mechanic before he got promoted to become the service manager. He later asked the dealer to let him come to the showroom at night to learn how to sell cars, and he often greeted the customers who came in the showroom, thereby becoming the unofficial greeter at the dealership.
Eventually, he sent his resume to Ford itself, hoping to land a job in sales, but it was unfortunately turned down, as he did not fit the bill, he only had a degree in auto mechanic at that time. But his persistence finally paid off, not before he was turned down three times. He was hired to work as a mechanic, but he realized that there were limited opportunities for him if he didn’t get a university degree. Thus, he studied at night in a nearby university while working during the day. He finally earned his MBA degree six years later.
His first tour of duty was in Dubai, where he headed the Marketing Division. “I raised my hand to volunteer for the job and stayed there for more than a year. I don’t know if I was doing a good job or they’re just happy to get rid of me,” he said.
He then went to Vietnam to set up the dealership network, the marketing and sales and the service division, as well, and stayed there for several years before moving back to Canada.
His expertise in sales was put to good use once more, as Ford tried their hand on retail by buying and taking over the dealerships in Quebec, where they were selling all their brands under one roof, which include Mercury, Lincoln, Jaguar, Mazda and Range Rover at that time. This had a disastrous result, and he was tasked to bring the sales back to profitability before selling the dealerships back to private entities.
But what struck me about Lessard was his love for Ford vehicles. His knowledge of old and current models was very impressive, particularly the iconic Mustang sports car. His love for the car can be seen on the number of units he had acquired throughout the years, totaling to six.
He told this scribe that he is particularly fond of the Shelby variant. He regretted selling that unit he owned, and he looks forward to acquiring another one again soon.
Though he refuses to divulge his plans for the company, he promised to focus on improving their after-sales service, among other things. He is particularly excited on the arrival of the sporty variant of the Ranger called the “Raptor”, which promises to shake up the pickup segment yet again early next year.
Lessard said he couldn’t see himself getting involved in other car manufacturers other than Ford because it was always Ford from the beginning. It seems that things are looking good for the company with the arrival of Bert.
Image credits: Patrick P. Tulfo