Volkswagen of America tapped a senior executive to fill a newly created post aimed at improving its relationship with customers. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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Mark Barnes, 52, has been named VW’s vice president of customer experience.
VW said Barnes will develop strategies and programs to “support the customer experience in all business activities” on the dealer and corporate levels.
Barnes is Volkswagen of America’s COO and head of sales. He joined VW four years ago. He will be replaced by Frank Trivieri, 48, a General Motors veteran. The job changes are effective Aug. 15.
VW has ambitious plans to boost U.S. sales to 800,000 units by 2018. The automaker’s sales are up 22 percent to 183,191 this year through July.
“We know we need a systemic approach to better manage the entire customer experience within VW,” said Jonathan Browning, CEO of Volkswagen of America. “Now that we’ve put actions in place to address the customer voice in the product development process, and built a strong quality organization, this is the next step in improving the foundation of our business.”
Barnes’ responsibilities will include the Volkswagen Academy for dealer training, and customer activities ranging from the consumer affairs hotline to loyalty programs.
Trivieri, who has been in the industry for more than 25 years, most recently was general director of sales for General Motors of Canada, Ltd.
Trivieri will be responsible for the dealer network and sales, including network operations, retail programs, fleet and remarketing.
