Wednesday 20th June 2012
New boss for Caterham Cars
Ansar Ali leaves Caterham Cars after seven years at the helm
Ansar Ali has left his role as CEO of Caterham Cars, to be replaced by Graham Macdonald, the company's former CFO.
Ali, a former Lotus man, has been at the head of the British sports car manufacturer since forming part of a management buy-in to take over the company from the founding Nearn family in 2005.
Now, a year or so on from the company's takeover by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes, Ali is moving on by 'mutual consent'.
Tony Fernandes, Caterham Group Chairman, said: "I want to take this chance to thank Ansar for everything he has done for the Caterham brand over many years. Without his leadership Caterham Cars would not be the world renowned, profitable business it is today and we would almost certainly not be working under the Caterham name if he had not initiated the discussions with us that led to the enviable position Caterham finds itself in today."
And it is quite a different position. Ali leaves Caterham a more engineering-focused car maker, with new metal in the form of the SP300 R track car, an all-new road car on the way in a year or two and even plans to make a foray into the world of karting.
And there's also the not-insignificant matter of the company now being part of the wider Caterham group, a conglomerate that includes the Caterham F1 Team, Caterham Composites and CTI (Caterham Technology & Innovation).
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Beefmeister
Original Poster
10,902 posts
100 months
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davepoth
20,186 posts
69 months
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Beefmeister said: Heading back to Lotus? I've seen less surprising things today. For example, I saw a tree.
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LordFlathead
7,992 posts
128 months
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I met him at the National Kit Car show a few years back. Extremely nice guy and very positive/assured about the brand. I wish him every success wherever he goes.
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suffolk009
753 posts
35 months
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Hope whatever he does works out well for him. I don't know him, but it appears he did a pretty decent job for Caterham.
Am I the only one worried about Fernandes putting the bean-counter in charge?
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rog007
3,063 posts
94 months
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"...to be replaced by Graham Macdonald, the company's former CFO."
I never saw the job advertised, did you? Do you think there was just an interview, or might there have been a few tests or a couple of assessment days? Fancy an ex employee being the best man or the job against all of the other applicants!
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Gorbyrev
487 posts
24 months
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Thank you Mr Ansar for steering a sure course with Caterham. Every blessing in your new career and thanks for the newletters.
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Ozzie Osmond
12,408 posts
116 months
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rog007 said: "...to be replaced by Graham Macdonald, the company's former CFO." Yes, but he's just the caretaker while they negotiate Dany Bahar's package.  Once that's completed the caretaker can step aside and let the undertaker work his magic disaster.
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mybrainhurts
71,767 posts
125 months
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Big Mac and fries (spit) with every new purchase, then...?
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MonkeyMatt
4,755 posts
77 months
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Is Caterham turning into the new Lotus (as in the best bits)
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ArosaMike
734 posts
81 months
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I expect he'll be missed....top bloke....even if some of his speeches at the Caterham Motorsport Awards Dinner's have been slightly rambling :lol:
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B10
697 posts
137 months
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Hmmmm replaced by CFO. Always suspicious of engineering companies run by accountants. Rarely works.
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mickrick
2,539 posts
43 months
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Why am I not surprised. The writing was on the wall for Caterham when the venture capitalists walked in. All the talk of Passion.  yea, as soon as a nice profit can be made by selling "The brand" on. They're still selling the same quantity of cars as the Nearns where. So what when Tony gets fed up of throwing money at the karts, the 300R, the road car, and whatever next they can brand? The only thing making money at Caterham right now is the 7. Same as it did when Chapman was selling them to fund his other hobbies.
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blearyeyedboy
2,586 posts
49 months
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I hear Bahar might be looking for a job... 
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mickrick
2,539 posts
43 months
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Fire99
8,113 posts
99 months
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MonkeyMatt said: Is Caterham turning into the new Lotus (as in the best bits) Not far wrong IMO. Though they seem to have more modest costs and a more stable business model.
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AlexS
899 posts
102 months
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B10 said: Hmmmm replaced by CFO. Always suspicious of engineering companies run by accountants. Rarely works. It's also a problem when you have engineering companies run by engineers. You need balance at the top.
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mickrick
2,539 posts
43 months
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AlexS said: B10 said: Hmmmm replaced by CFO. Always suspicious of engineering companies run by accountants. Rarely works. It's also a problem when you have engineering companies run by engineers. You need balance at the top. Cosworth didn't do too badly from it.
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V8 FOU
759 posts
17 months
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blearyeyedboy said: I hear Bahar might be looking for a job... I hear they need some canteen staff and rented house decorators
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BertBert
7,196 posts
81 months
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mickrick said: Why am I not surprised. The writing was on the wall for Caterham when the venture capitalists walked in. All the talk of Passion. yea, as soon as a nice profit can be made by selling "The brand" on. They're still selling the same quantity of cars as the Nearns where. So what when Tony gets fed up of throwing money at the karts, the 300R, the road car, and whatever next they can brand? The only thing making money at Caterham right now is the 7. Same as it did when Chapman was selling them to fund his other hobbies. As positive as ever then?
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XTR2Turbo
1,367 posts
101 months
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mickrick said: AlexS said: B10 said: Hmmmm replaced by CFO. Always suspicious of engineering companies run by accountants. Rarely works. It's also a problem when you have engineering companies run by engineers. You need balance at the top. Cosworth didn't do too badly from it. or indeed most German engineering companies
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