EP 4: Gareth Dunsmore: Leading teams across cultures at Nissan, McLaren, and VinFast

In this week's episode John Stech, host of The Auto Ethnographer, has a conversation with Gareth Dunsmore. With an appreciation of different cultures going back to his childhood, thanks to his family, Gareth talks about his experiences working overseas with Nissan and VinFast. He also speaks about McLaren and how to convey its Britishness around the world.Gareth started his marketing career with Nissan Motors UK but had an opportunity earlier in his career to move to Nissan’s regional office based in Paris. He spent 11 years living in France and Switzerland working with Nissan marketing departments across the AMIEO Region (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, and Oceania).He returned to England with a new challenge and adventure, working as Chief Marketing Officer at McLaren, maker of renowned supercars. Here he faced an unexpected challenge – working with British colleagues following his stint abroad. Gareth discusses that challenge as well as how to market a brand like McLaren to consumers outside of the UK.After McLaren, Gareth set out on a big adventure, taking on the role of Deputy CEO of Sales & Marketing at VinFast Automotive, an upstart electric vehicle producer based near Hanoi, Vietnam. This would be the most daunting challenge yet but Gareth found the way to succeed and to gain respect from his Vietnamese colleagues, who had predisposed notions about Westerners.Gareth has since returned to Nissan Motors where he is Managing Director for e-Micro Mobility Nissan for the AMIEO region. This includes the Silence Eco Urban Mobility range.Visit The Auto Ethnographer's homepage for more information about the podcast series at https://www.auto-ethnographer.com