The death of Jack Pitney was a big loss for BMW NA

BMW’s North American marketing chief Jack Pitney died in a vacation accident 6 days before moving to a new post in sales as vice president for BMW’s eastern region. He was just 47 years old.

BMW couldn’t immediately provide details about the accident, but there a lot of things that we know about what an asset Pitney has been for the company. Here’s an excerpt from an article published by Autonews about Jack Pitney:

Pitney joined BMW in 1995 as head of corporate communications. His big break came when he was part of a small team of executives who persuaded a wary BMW management team to import the Mini to North America. He led the Mini brand as its first U.S. chief from 2001 to 2005.

“He was very influential in getting the Mini brand launched in this country,” recalls Russell Stover, general manager of BMW of Nashville and Mini of Nashville. “He had the right personality for it — funny and fun in spirit, but also very serious about getting it done right.”

Stover also said Pitney, as marketing vice president for BMW, “brought calm and stability” in the brand’s response to the recession. “We didn’t panic, and I think we should be thankful Jack was in there” during that time.

The dealer said he recently walked the Great Wall of China in a group with Pitney.

When his appointment to the regional post move was announced in July, Pitney said he was ready to take on the challenge of working with BMW dealers, who have been pinched by the factory’s cuts in margin and other payments.

Pitney was also considered a candidate to one day become head of BMW of North America.

When asked by Automotive News in July if he was being groomed for the CEO job, Pitney laughed and said: “We all rotate on a regular basis. You could argue everyone is being groomed for anything.”

Before joining BMW, Pitney was manager of corporate communications for Mazda Motor of America.

Source: Autonews