Lincoln appoints Nicolas Lory to lead the carmaker’s Direct Markets business unit

Lincoln has announced the appointment of Nicolas Lory to the position of Managing Director, Lincoln Direct Markets, replacing Sarah Rae, who has repatriated to Canada, to take up a new digital marketing position in Ford Motor Company.

In his new role, Nicolas will lead Lincoln’s operations in the company’s Direct Markets business unit, overseeing the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia Pacific regions, as the luxury automotive brand continues to expand its footprint in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, and engage with distributors seeking to represent the Lincoln brand in further Direct Markets. He will report to Randy Krieger, President, Ford Direct Markets.

Prior to this new position, Nicolas served as Ford Middle East’s Sales Director, having initially joined the Ford Middle East and Africa team in 2015 as Ford Customer Service Division market lead, followed by Country Manager of Sales, in Saudi Arabia.

Nicolas’s early work experience with Ford Motor Company came in 1998 as part of an internship in Mexico, before officially becoming a member of the Ford family in 2000, when he took a sales and services field position in France for Ford of Europe.

In the interim two decades with Ford, Nicolas has excelled in a range of roles in both sales and service, and brings a wealth of automotive industry experience as a marketing and sales professional to his new position as Managing Director of Lincoln Direct Markets.

Born in France, with his earlier years spent growing up in the Middle East, North and South America, and Europe, father-of-two Nicolas is fluent in French, Spanish, English, and is working on his Arabic. He holds two Bachelor’s degrees in International Business Management and Administration from the Kedge Business School in France, and the European Business Programme in Spain, and spends much of his spare time freediving, off-roading, and discovering new cultures.

The Lincoln brand is witnessing enhancements to its representation in the Middle East. In 2017, the luxury marque welcomed Alghanim Auto as its official distributor in Kuwait, further extending a proud commitment to delivering its luxury automotive experience to customers in the region, while the Al Tayer Motors stand-alone Lincoln 3S facility in Dubai, the largest in the world, also opened its doors to customers. Furthermore, Lincoln will launch to new markets in which it’s not yet represented later this year.

“This is an exciting time for Lincoln across the Middle East,” said Nicolas Lory. “We continue to expand our product offering with the recent launch of the all-new Nautilus and Aviator SUVs, and the brand’s distributor development in the UAE is helping to drive not only sales, but also customer satisfaction.”

Nicolas added: “Continued demand for our newest models, already established nameplates like Continental and Navigator, and the highly anticipated all-new Corsair to be launched imminently, forecasts Lincoln to be on track for an exceptional 50% sales growth in 2020.”