Automotive industry veteran Alex Yap will be taking over the reins of the one of the biggest car companies in the country, Inchcape Philippines.
Effective 9 August, Yap will be succeeding Alex Hammett as the business leader in the Philippine market and is appointed as the country head of Inchcape Philippines.
Hammett will focus on his role as the company’s managing director, South Asia and Pacific.
The leadership shakeup also involved Frankie Ang, chief operating officer of Inchcape Philippines, who will be exiting his operating role in the business by the end of the year. He will remain as a board member of Inchcape Philippines.
Inchcape Philippines formally announced strategic leadership changes within the organization.
This comes shortly after Inchcape Philippines celebrated its first anniversary in the country after a year of solid business growth and development.
Inchcape officially entered the Philippines in August 2023 through the formalization of a joint venture with CATS Group of Companies, the leading distributor of luxury vehicles in the country.
Since its incorporation, Inchcape Philippines has grown from strength to strength.
Besides the appointment by Changan International Corporation to distribute Changan vehicles in the country, Inchcape Philippines digitalized the business, launched new facilities and showrooms, expanded aftersales capabilities, and connected the world’s leading automobile brands with the Filipino market.
It will also open their state-of-the-art facilities in Pasig later this year which will be home to a Parts Distribution Center and training academy.
These milestones are products of the people who embody the company’s #OneInchcape culture built on effective teamwork, fresh thinking and putting People — both partners, customers and colleagues — at the center of all undertakings.
Driving business performance across all organizational levels, these shared values have led to Inchcape Philippines’ certification by Great Place To Work — the first GPTW-certified Inchcape company in the South Asia and Pacific region.
Hammett relinquishes his double-hatted role as head of Inchcape Philippines to focus on driving growth across the region as managing director, South Asia and Pacific.
The region comprises the growth markets of Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Guam, Saipan and Micronesia. Alex will continue to be based in the Philippines.
In his 12 years with CATS, Ang managed operations, business development, and government relations.
Since the incorporation of Inchcape Philippines, Ang played pivotal roles in ensuring operations continuity and business growth.
Yap is a veteran with more than 25 years of experience in the automotive industry.
He joined Inchcape in 2017 as the Sales and Distribution Director of Inchcape Singapore where he led the digital transformation of retail sales, digitalizing the customer experience journey.
Alex was also the managing director of Inchcape Guam and Saipan (also known as Atkins Kroll) in the Pacific from 2022 to 2024 where he was instrumental in raising business operations efficiency through digitalization.
He also helped transform the business to one which is customer-centric and a place where talents are being developed.
Prior to Inchcape, Alex managed Super Luxury Marques including Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Jaguar Land Rover and McLaren, and handled Commercial Vehicles from Japanese and Chinese OEMs.
In his new role, Alex Yap will spearhead distribution, retail and service excellence with global mobility partners — Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, Jaguar and Land Rover, Changan Auto, Mazda, Harley-Davidson, and Daimler Commercial Vehicles in the Philippines.
“As the automotive industry continues to undergo rapid change, the Philippines presents an exciting opportunity to leverage our digital capabilities to further grow our distribution business with our mobility partners,” Yap said.
“I thank Alex and Frankie for their trust in me to lead the Inchcape Philippines team in powering great experiences for our customers and delivering value for all our stakeholders.”