Bentley on Tuesday named Frank-Steffen Walliser, a veteran of fellow Volkswagen Group brand Porsche, as its new CEO.
Walliser will take over the role on July 1 from Adrian Hallmark, who in March announced plans to join Aston Martin as its new CEO starting on Oct. 1. Hallmark will replace Amedeo Felisa, who is retiring.
Walliser has been at Porsche since 1995. One career highlight was overseeing development of the 918 Spyder hypercar starting in 2010. He later became head of motorsports at Porsche, before taking over management of the 718 and 911 sports car lines, and finally becoming the person in charge for overall vehicle development at Porsche.
Walliser's background is in mechanical engineering, with a focus on internal-combustion engines. However, he joins Bentley at a time when the automaker has likely launched its final combustion engine, a new twin-turbocharged V-8 that forms part of a plug-in hybrid powertrain known as the Ultra Performance Hybrid.
The powertrain serves as the replacement for Bentley's venerable twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W-12 and makes its debut later this year in an updated Continental GT range, where it will deliver a total system output of 771 hp. Bentley is also working on an electric powertrain, which will debut in Bentley's first electric vehicle currently due around late 2026.
In a separate announcement, Bentley last week named Mike Rocco as its new chief of the Americas, the automaker's biggest market. Rocco, who was previously head of sales operations for the Americas, replaced Christophe Georges, who has returned to Bentley's Crewe, U.K., headquarters to lead the automaker's global sales and marketing team.
