Len Hunt said even he was surprised by his abrupt February dismissal as chief executive of Irvine’s Kia Motors America Inc.
He’d been the boss of the North American arm of South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp. for only a couple of months. Hunt, who came to Kia from Volkswagen AG, had been chief operating officer since 2005.
“It’s always a shock, I’ve got to be honest with you,” he said. “But you’ve just got to get up and do something else.”
Now Hunt has landed a spot as a partner for Washington D.C.-based Gallup Inc.’s consulting arm and Western hub in Irvine. He’s overseeing automotive and other clients. The Irvine office employs about 60 people.
British-born Hunt, who has worked for automakers in Britain, Germany and the U.S. for the past 30 years, got caught up in a tumultuous time at Kia.
In the past three years, the company, part of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co., ousted several Ameri-can executives and replaced them with Korean leaders.
Byung Mo Ahn, who was president of parent company Kia Motors, replaced Hunt as the North American boss.
So far so good for Ahn: In May, Kia had record U.S. sales, up 9% from a year earlier to 31,047 vehicles, according to Kia.
Kia is poised to do better in this economy with its low priced, fuel-efficient cars, such as the Spectra and Optima.
Other executives who got the boot at Kia in recent years include Ian Beavis, former vice president of marketing, and Hunt’s predecessor, Peter Butterfield.
The executive changes got play in BusinessWeek in March, when the magazine wrote about Kia’s revolving door. The story depicted American executives feeling suffocated under a more authoritarian Korean style of business.
The culture differences were illustrated in one instance where workers at Kia in Irvine bemoaned having to line up outside in the cold, awaiting the arrival of Korean boss Ahn.
Former executives have called Kia’s management style “feudal.”
Hunt was reluctant to criticize his former employer.
“I don’t want to pass judgment on the story,” Hunt said. “It was one perspective.”
Speaking in general terms, Hunt says adapting to cultural differences is something that’s necessary in business. The Japanese have done a good job of adapting and integrating because they have been here longer, he said.
“It’s going to be an interesting challenge for the Chinese,” he said.
China’s automakers are targeting the U.S. with small, low-priced cars.
Adapting to cultural differences is one of Hunt’s strong suits, he said.
“I relish it,” he said.
Hunt has sat in British, German and American boardrooms.
“I could write a book about what goes on in the way that decisions get made,” he said.
Hunt’s worked for a few automakers, including the U.S. arms of Volkswagen and Audi AG, also part of Volkswagen.
Life at Gallup
At Gallup’s consulting arm, Hunt said he’ll use his cultural and management skills to help automakers create brands that stick and to improve relations between dealers and automakers.
Gallup, best known for public opinion polling, also publishes management books such as “Human Sigma: Managing the Employee-Customer Encounter” and “First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently.”
Gallup’s consulting focus is on “behavioral economics”,the science of what drives brand allegiance. The company uses Web and phone surveys and other methods to measure customer behavior.
Gallup gathers and analyzes data and makes recommendations.
Clients include Best Buy Co., Marriott International Inc.’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. arm in Torrance. Hunt said he used Gallup’s services while working in the auto industry in Britain. He hired Gallup again when he came to the U.S., he said.
Kelly Aylward, regional managing partner for Gallup, recruited Hunt.
“Len is a great addition,” she said.
Gallup also hired a veteran from Toyota.
It’s a critical time for automakers, according to Hunt. The industry, already mired in troubles,too many dealers for the domestic automakers, boring cars and low profits,now have the reality of high gas prices that look like they’re here to stay.
The auto industry is undergoing a massive shift because of gas prices, he said. When gas was cheap, no one cared about driving around in a sport utility vehicle. Automakers kept cranking them out because they were profitable.
Now, “People are rediscovering small cars and thinking they’re a good buy,” Hunt said.
For the first time, sales of the Toyota Corolla and Camry and Honda Civic and Accord each surpassed the top-selling Ford F-150 in May.
Brand loyalty is more important than ever, Hunt said. Volkswagen is a good example of a brand with fanatical enthusiasts, he said.
“They actually tattoo the brand on their arms,” he said. “They kind of live the brand.”
