Philippe Colpron takes over as an executive vice president as head of ZF’s aftermarket division on Jan. 1, 2021. In parallel, he will continue to lead Fleet Solutions – a business of ZF’s Commercial Vehicle Control Systems division (formerly WABCO). The proven industry expert is set to anticipate the future evolution and requirements of the sector, expand ZF Aftermarket’s broad portfolio and drive new advancements in customer-centric solutions. He aims to support customers proactively through the unprecedented change of the automotive industry.
“The automotive future is smart with alternative drive concepts, connected vehicles and autonomous driving in addition to radically changing customer expectations,” said Colpron about today’s challenges. “ZF Aftermarket wants to take this transformation as an opportunity to be strongly connected with our customers and further expand on a convincing combination of a broad product and solutions portfolio, a global service network and purposeful digital solutions, shaping the Aftermarket for the Next Generation Mobility in a sustainable society.”
After different management roles at Valeo, Colpron started his career at former WABCO in 2007 as strategic sourcing director. From 2010 onward, he took over various top management positions in the aftermarket to implement an agile global organization with unique market proximity and evolve new digital solutions for connected ecosystems to drive Next Generation Mobility toward zero accidents, significant fuel savings and operational efficiency.
In 2018, he was then appointed to the Global Fleet Solutions Hub leadership role, taking ownership of two of WABCO’s most dynamic businesses – Digital Customer Services, and the Aftermarket – molded into a single Fleet Solutions organization.
Colpron’s predecessor Helmut Ernst will take on the transition role “Aftermarket Affairs” from Jan. 1, representing ZF in selected aftermarket associations, leading strategic projects and supporting in 2021 the on-boarding process of the new ZF Aftermarket head.
“Helmut Ernst defined and implemented the new ZF Aftermarket organization after the TRW transaction. This successful integration and the subsequent development of our aftermarket activities is an essential basis for future growth. We thank him for always promoting change whenever necessary,” emphasizes Dr. Holger Klein, member of the ZF Board of Management responsible for Asia Pacific & India, Car Chassis Technology and Aftermarket, “and he will now be instrumental in ensuring the seamless transfer of the management role.”
He added, “The Automotive Aftermarket is undergoing dramatic changes with evolving customer expectations, acceleration of technological innovations and shifts in competitive power. With Philippe Colpron we could gain an experienced, internationally well-known leader, who has swiftly embraced these trends and lives ZF’s vision of safe and sustainable mobility, as well as our technology spearheading digitalization. He will evolve quickly our Aftermarket business for the Next Generation Mobility with ZF’s strict customer centricity as his guiding principle.”
