The major bus brand BLK Auto has named a new general manager and global bus expert
Specialist vehicle importer and distributor BLK Auto has named Sean Smith as its new general manager, an appointment that delivers to the company a wealth of practical and technical experience.
Smith has spent three decades in the international bus industry, initially in the Australasian region with MotorCoach Australia, Austral Pacific, Mills-Tui Australia and ABM Adelaide, before moving to Asia.
In Asia, Smith worked for many years as operations director for Bonluck Bus and four years as general manager of Wrightbus International in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Most recently, Smith was the Chief Operating Officer for eVersum Mobility Solutions in Europe.
Educated in Australia at the Queensland University of Technology, Smith holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Engineering Science.
BLK Auto managing director Jason Pecotic says Smith’s background and technical expertise will greatly strengthen the future of BLK.
 |
“Having Sean on board, with his extensive background covering the bus industry, is exciting for myself and the team as we can draw on his knowledge not only from his time here in Australia, but also globally,” Pecotic says.
RELATED ARTICLE: Bus Search 2023 – BLK Auto
“Having someone managing the BLK business who is across the needs of our diesel fleet, but also has the technical knowledge from an engineering perspective as we migrate to battery electric and hydrogen vehicles, breaks new ground for the company.”
Smith says that while the timing was favourable for his family to come back home to Australia, the overarching reason he chose to take the role of general manager for BLK came down to the progress that he had seen the company make in its zero emission capabilities.
“BLK has a great heritage of producing excellent buses and coaches, but I’m excited that they have been an early adopter of bringing on board new technology such as battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells,” Smith says.
“The industry is rapidly changing, not only in the transition to zero emissions vehicles, but also with autonomous platforms that will play a part in our future.”