GM Names New Managing Director of Thai Operations

General Motors announces an executive leadership shakeup in Thailand.

Effective immediately, Wail A. Farghaly, previously managing director-GM Thailand and Chevrolet Sales Thailand, leaves GM “to pursue other opportunities.”

Sumito Ishii, managing director-GM Vietnam, takes over at GM Thailand and as interim managing director-Chevrolet Sales Thailand until a permanent replacement is announced.

Stefan Jacoby, executive vice president and president-GM International, says when leadership changes occur, the priority always is to ensure a smooth and efficient business transition.

“Ishii has the right experience and knowledge of our operations to step in immediately,” Jacoby says in a statement. “With our Southeast Asian strategy focused on trucks and SUVs, we are confident that Ishii will drive further business success in Thailand, as he has done in Vietnam.”

Ishii joined GM in 1996 from Toyota, where he worked in dealer support and new-vehicle-launch readiness. From 1998 to 2003, Ishii was assigned to new-product-development programs at GM North America. During this period, he also worked on strategic partnership projects with other automakers.

He returned to Japan in 2003 and held various senior positions at GM Japan, including managing director. He has been in Vietnam since August 2016.

Farghaly joined GM in 1999 and was named to the position in Thailand in July 2016 after a year as managing director-GM Vietnam.

Chevrolet sales in Thailand are up this year as the industry recovers from a multiyear sales slump, but it continues to trail its American rival Ford. After five months, Chevy sales were up 26.9% at 6,057 units, while Ford soared 49.0% to 16,806.

Market leader Toyota was up 17.1% at 76,603 units.