Geoff Polites

Geoffrey Paul Polites (5 November 1947 – 20 April 2008) was an Australian automotive executive. He was notable for being the chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover and the president of Ford Australia.

Early life and education Polites was born in Melbourne, and educated at Cheltenham High School, before going on to study economics at Monash University, graduating with first class honours.

Career

Ford He joined Ford Australia in 1970 as a product planner and after two years, he joined the company's graduate training program in the United States, working in product planning and marketing plans before moving to Europe for further development in product planning.

In 1975 he was appointed marketing plans and research manager at Ford Australia. Two years later he became southern region country sales manager before returning to head office in 1979 as merchandising manager. He moved to Sydney in 1981 as eastern regional manager then returned again to head office in 1985 to become general sales manager. career move by resigning from Ford, to become the dealer principal of City Ford Dealership in central Sydney spending 11 years selling the products to customers against stiff opposition from Japanese imports. he sold his interests in City Ford in 1999 and became president of Ford Australia where he shook things up, He was responsible for getting Ford Australia back into motor racing and performance cars, including the highly regarded Falcon Turbo. He was personally involved in recruiting Holden V8 racing star Craig Lowndes, who defected to Ford in 2001.

Jaguar Land Rover In September 2005, Polites was appointed CEO of Jaguar and Land Rover, reporting to Mark Fields, executive vice-president, Premier Automotive Group, a move he described as "a complete shock". He had intended to stay on with Jaguar Land Rover under Tata ownership.

Death Having battled bowel cancer for two years, Polites died in April 2008 on a visit to Australia. He had hoped to see the birth of his first grandchild but his health deteriorated rapidly, preventing that.

At the time, his contemporaries paid tribute to him: – Alan Mulally, President and CEO, Ford Motor Company

– Lewis Booth, Executive Vice-President, Ford Motor Company; Chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe and Premier Automotive Group

Personal life Australian Rules Football was a passion and in his spare time, Polites was a leading umpire, officiating in 39 senior Victorian Football League matches from 1976–1979. At one stage he was mentioned as a possible CEO of the AFL – and the Sydney Swans were a passion. For 12 years before he left Sydney, he had been a runner, selector and assistant coach at the Swans.

Polites was a fan of the band AC/DC, French singer Charles Trenet, and identified Winston Churchill, George Patton, Erwin Rommel, and John Walker as heroes.

He was married with two sons, and was fond of his Maltese Shih Tzu named Don. He had a brother, Colin, a lawyer and presidential member of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, who also succumbed to bowel cancer in 2003, at 57.