million USD. In 2004, Leach became Chief Executive Officer of Maserati, Gruppo Ferrari. Maserati dismissed Leach in February 2005 as part of parent company Fiat's plan to align the brand with Alfa Romeo. In July 2006 it was announced that Leach had been appointed chairman of LDV Group in England, by the new owner, the Russian automotive company GAZ Group. In 2008, Leach was appointed Vice Chairman of Ferronordic Group Volvo Construction Equipment. In 2014 he became Board Advisor of Nokia Here and Chairman of Forward Composites. Martin Leach ran Magma International, the firm that entered into an agreement to buy the Super Aguri F1 team, but backed out after Magma’s financial backers, Dubai Investment Capital walked out of the agreement in the last minute. In 2015 he became the Co-President of NEXTEV, a startup technology company specialised in designing and developing high-performance electric vehicles. Supported by NEXTEV, the NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team, (formerly known as China Racing Formula E) won the first annual racing driver champion in Formula E's history, becoming the first Chinese racing team to win a globally recognised, world-class auto racing championship. Awards In 2000 Leach received an honorary doctorate at the University of Hertfordshire. He was Product Development Executive of the Year for Automotive News in 2002. In 2004 he was named Man of the Year by Automobile. Sporting achievements Starting as a karting racer when he was 11 years. Leach turned professional when he was 14. Leach had a successful career as a professional racer in karts and cars, achieving several champion titles in Europe. In 1974 he was the Winner of the Europa Cup and was 3rd in the World Karting Championships Rye House. In 1979 he was Champion of Champions and Sportsman of the year at the Hong Kong Kart Grand Prix. In 2000 he was Podium at the Vallelunga 6 Hours. In 2001 he was Class Winner at the Nurburgring 24 Hours. References 2004 Man of the Year, Automobile Magazine http://www.automobilemag.com/features/awards/0402_leach/ Former Ford Europe COO in U.S.-Chinese electric car project https://www.reuters.com/article/autos-chinese-manufacturers-idUSL5N10V49D20150820 Interview: Martin Leach http://www.just-auto.com/interview/martin-leach-magma-ceo_id136274.aspx External links http://www.teamchina-racing.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20150801233046/http://magmagroup.co/ 1957 births 2016 deaths Alumni of the University of Hertfordshire British manufacturing chief executives Chief executives in the automobile industry Duke University alumni Formula E people INSEAD alumni 20th-century English businesspeople