Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) has promoted Matt Sakhaie to Head of Product as part of an organisational realignment.
In Sakhaie’s previous position he led the Isuzu Power Solutions (IPS) business unit, managing a raft of new product development projects and eventually overseeing sustained business growth as the department’s head.
In his new role, Sakhaie will oversee several functions within a repositioned product portfolio, including product development, product management and production management.
IAL Director and COO, Andrew Harbison, said Sakhaie’s appointment was part of the company’s commitment to centralise various product-related functions.
“Matt will be overseeing a seismic shift in our approach to product management, designed to improve our ability to focus on core functions, eliminate duplication and ensure even greater capacity,” he said.
“Matt has enjoyed an extremely successful tenure with the IPS team and has helped develop this side of our business exponentially.
“We’re thrilled to have him lead the transformation of our product capability, across all corners of our product, from truck to parts, IPS, mobility and more.”
Sakhaie said he was excited with the challenges presented by his new role.
“Our customer led product management and development capabilities will be the cornerstone of the product department as it will enable Isuzu to stay ahead of the curve and provide product differentiation and value-add to customers,” he said.
“It’s clear that we already have a very strong level of knowledge within IAL. We wouldn’t be here celebrating our 34th consecutive year of truck market leadership without this.
“We are now ensuring that we can employ this deep knowledge consistently across Isuzu’s extensive product value chain. These changes will create improved efficiencies that flow through to our customers in the field.”
Sakhaie is an experienced engineer and veteran at IAL, having started 12 years ago as Applications Engineering Manager.