Bahar Suspended

[noe 0 2 Vehicles]

That's also seen as misappropriation of company money/funds : usually as a CEO you are not permitted to use company money 'on your own personal expenditure' - certainly not on housing renovations, unless the contract included the purchasing of housing in the view the company can make a return on the real estate investment etc .... If you OWN the company you can do as you please but not if the company you RUN is owned by third parties .... As is Lotus ....

Hope they have something neat and tidy sorted soon and before the Festival Of Speed - I am looking forward to seeing anything Lotus there on the Friday 29th

Message to DRB-Hicom : pull your shit together

[NedaSay 733]

Ok so DB is on very possibly his way out!

The question is: what's next ? He was after all the one with the brilliant plan "no sarcasm here"! The company will need a new CEO!

ps: Lotus is way to frequently in the news these days and way to often for reasons that are not related to cars!

[rudolphwolven 94 1 Vehicles]

Posted by Ruud on 11 October 2011 - 10:14 AM in Lotus / Motoring / Cars Chat

My personal feeling since the appointment of Danny Bahar at Lotus is that there are similarities between his presentation and the history of Victor Muller with Spijker/Saab........a lot of plans and few realisation...........

I sincerely hope that Lotus will survive with this guy (who has a terrific difficult job)...........and that it will not be confronted with the same escapades as with Victor Muller.........

Posted by Ruud on 12 January 2012 - 05:55 PM in Lotus / Motoring / Cars Chat

I personally really doubt if DB with his requirements towards existing Lotus-dealers will be able within 2-3 years to keep up with an attractive range of models/prices from his side.......

Mark my words.......within 3 years DB has left Lotus anyway.

This will turn out to be very positive news for Lotus and its employees..........

Most probabely from now on they will be liberated from this guy for ever; just in time..........

It is five for twelve .........there is few time left......however it is not to late to adjust the plans on a more realistic basis.

Edited May 25, 2012 by Ruud

[Stirling_Villeneuve 93]

Not looking good... for Bahar or Lotus. Without a known quantity the helm the future's anyone's guess.

[Mark Blanchard 1,383]

I recon a Malaysian MD will be on the way.

[Stirling_Villeneuve 93]

Now here...

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/99862

Messy... very messy.

Edited May 25, 2012 by Stirling_Villeneuve

[plumdeplakmuis 13 2 Vehicles]

Or a Dutch one,

Victor Muller is a bit bored lately,

unwishfull thinking though.

[rogerch 63 3 Vehicles]

Oh joy, the best news to come out of Hethel since his appointment. :animier:

[NedaSay 733]

I'd reckon that a new Malaysian executive chairman should be appointed ASAP and that a german CEO should be appointed in the following moments! Texting Dr. Thomas Bscher as I write this!

[hedgerley 396 2 Vehicles]

The local take in Malaysia is interesting. It says he is suspended until the completion of the review. Interestingly it is Proton who suspended him, not DRB Hicom -

http://www.btimes.co...icle/index_html

At the same time the Group MD resigned. And the piece about the bank lending isn't good. My brain hurts!!!

However, tucked away almost as a throw away line, which no-one else seems to have picked up - at Thursday's Board meeting DRB-Hicom "decided not to sell it's stake in Lotus" .

Whether this is a good or bad thing will no doubt be the subject of further debate, but let's hope it gives Lotus a period of stability, with or without Dany.

Edited May 26, 2012 by hedgerley

[ramjet 944]

This sort of stuff puzzles me. A CEO of a subsidiary company would surely have to run any and all expenses past the upper management for scrutiny and ultimate approval.

Sure, DB may have had his own cache of funds (which presumably he would have the liberty to manage), but when that started impacting on Proton weekly (if the reports are to be believed in the millions), why did someone not get on the phone and ask for a "Please Explain!"?

If the contract rumours that we have heard are to be believed, then maybe this is a way for the parent companies to offload DB without honouring his contract. There are no friends in business.

Also, this may only be temporary, as a way for the world and the industry to see action being taken, the parent companies as serious and it may all go back to normal in a week.

What would I now anyway, this is all speculation as not one of us on here knows anything about what this is really all about.

Best to sit and wait and watch.

I forgot to add: From what I have seen in the multi-national companies I have worked for, I would be extremely uncomfortable if I was DB.

[Moxie 98 3 Vehicles]

Hmmm, I really must renew GropeLotus.com.

[Iconic Ride 267]

"There has also been talks in the market of a consortium of local banks, which includes CIMB Bank Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd, having stopped lending money to Lotus due to its management's inability to meet certain conditions in their loan agreements."

Death knell? Geeze I hope not. Will my "classic" Esprit be the last of the breed? Trying to remain optimistic here. Anyone have a bead on the "short list" of potential replacement CEO's? The temporary "triumvirate" of Malaysian execs don't strike me as particularly "car guys" material. A stopgap measure at best.

[ramjet 944]

If DB is to leave, opportunity for promotion from within those he employed?

Just please don't let it be Mr Swizz.

[Mark Blanchard 1,383]

at Thursday's Board meeting DRB-Hicom "decided not to sell it's stake in Lotus" .

Hurray!!!!! . .

That would explain them wanting Bahar's departure.

[alan 29]

Sniff Petrol has a message from Dany Bahaha

How do they get away with that!

[Paul Culley 0]

oh dear

Edited May 26, 2012 by Paul Culley

[Buddsy 1,458 1 Vehicles]

"

No details of the allegations were given, but it is understood that Mr Bahar’s laptop computer was also seized and his email account suspended, however it is not believed that police have been involved."

Buddsy

[ramjet 944]

Once again, twisted media reports that drag up old chestnuts of stories and interweave them with the current story. On top of that, if you read both of these, they contradict each other. BBC (Bond) says DRB are deciding whether to keep it (Lotus) or sell, the other says DRB says business as usual.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-18215542

http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/business/speculation_over_lotus_boss_dany_bahar_s_future_following_suspension_1_1389772 (everyones fave Mr Bacon is in here again)

and a third different one from The Independent

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/lotus-chief-executive-dany-bahar-suspended-7789314.html

Ah 'tis a tangled web we weave........

[Loteuk 6 1 Vehicles]

I wonder if house renovations are the cause of the problem?

EDP page is gone now...

Could be a reason.......

Self-employed builder Nicholas Foreman, who trades as J-Max Builders and Carpenters, has filed a joint claim against Lotus Cars Ltd and its chief executive Dany Bahar for £92,485, for work at Wychwood House on Norwich Road, in Hethersett.

Claims documents filed at the High Court of Justice in London reveal the action centres upon almost £375,000 worth of renovation work, paid for by the loss-making company, of a house rented by the chief executive.

Mr Foreman, whose company is listed as being based at St Andrew’s Business Park, in Thorpe, said he quoted for “substantial” building work valued at almost £375,000 before Mr Bahar was due to move in, which was paid for by cheque from a Lotus Cars Ltd bank account. However, two invoices for extra work, which was directly ordered by Mr Bahar to be completed as quickly as possible, have been left unpaid.

Mr Foreman said that when he approached Lotus Cars Ltd for payment he was told for the first time through solicitors of a potential dispute over workmanship.

The claim form said: “In early February 2012 the second defendant’s (Lotus Cars Ltd) solicitors delivered a CD containing 103 photographs which allegedly highlighted the defendant’s (Danny Bahar) complaints about the claimant’s (Mr Foreman) work.

“Of those photographs, 61 related to work carried out by contractors not connected to the claimant (Mr Foreman) and the remaining photographs show 25 minor snagging defects (such as in one case a single screw missing from a doorknob and in another a small dirty mark on a door), which the claimant (Mr Foreman) had expected to rectify on his planned return visit on 16 October 2011.

“This he had organised with the first defendant (Mr Bahar) precisely for the purpose of attending to any snagging issues, in accordance with common building practice.

“The claimant (Mr Foreman) estimates that the said snagging items would have taken no more than four man-days to attend to at a cost (to himself) of less than £1,000.”

Mr Foreman claims he was initially approached by Lotus Group employee Robert Hardingham to rectify “sub-standard” work by a previous builder on Mr Bahar’s previous home, which was paid for from a personal account.

The claim has been filed through solicitors Hansells, who served the papers on Lotus Cars Ltd and Dany Bahar in early March. Lotus and Mr Bahar must file a defence by the beginning of May.

Earlier this year the Malaysian government’s investment firm Khazanah Nasional sold its controlling stake in Proton to Malaysian car distributor and importer DRB-Hicom in a £276m dea.

This sparked speculation about the future of Group Lotus, and whether the new owners would sign up to the five-year turnaround for the loss making company to move from a specialist niche car company to a profitable sports car brand.

Lotus declined to comment.

[Stirling_Villeneuve 93]

It looks like that's the issue or perhaps the excuse to move Bahar out of the way depending on which way you look at it, but we're not looking at huge sums compared to the sums Lotus are spending. It's very public too, I read somewhere DB was due in Monaco this weekend for the launch of new Lotus store, so he's been set up for a public disgrace. It's very bad PR for a loss making company looking potentially looking for a purchaser, the last thing Lotus needs right now, very depressing news after the euphoria of the Exige S reviews.

[richardvg 3 1 Vehicles]

Surely it cannot be over this house issue ...that would be a pathetic excuse to get rid of the man.If you seize his laptop and e mail address ,the trust has already gone so just pay him his dues and let him be.

It is difficult to say whether he did a good job because he his not complete however if it continues on the same path ,good or bad ,he has succeeded in ensuring consistency .

[Kimbers 1,411]

Erm.... using nearly half a mill of Lotus money to throw into a rental property is hardly a pathetic excuse. Thats called misappropriation of funds and at best very poor money management (lets not forget thats company money).

However, I tend to think from hints locally that this may be the tip of the iceberg in terms of poor decisions.

We will see. Maybe he will be vindicated and it'll all be a storm in a teacup.

[Loose Cannon 576 1 Vehicles]

This all sounds familiar from the turbulent post GM days, IIRC Ansar Ali and others got the boot amid allegations of misappropriation of company vehicles, the company Bentley being used by family members etc.

I'm as far removed from the world of big business as is possible, and to a layman this all sounds pretty sordid, but it looks like for the top boys these little "perks" seem to be overlooked until time comes to get rid of them, when they become ammunition.

[Stirling_Villeneuve 93]

What worries me most is the lack of direction now. Dany made some rather odd decisions at times but I totally trusted him when it comes to upping the game at Lotus and building proper quality cars. What he did with the MY12 was desperately needed, probably too late but it showed what could be done with the right application. Now there's no one at the helm aside from the money guys... very worrying.

What next???