Senior leadership reshuffle for Manitowoc in Asia-Pacific

Giles Martin, currently executive vice president for the region, will now oversee all countries, apart from China as John Wheeler takes over as executive vice president for China.

Eric Etchart, president of Manitowoc, said of the new appointments: “Asia- Pacific is diverse and complex, and it is also the world’s fastest growing market for cranes sales. We have decided to increase our senior management resources to give the region the attention it deserves. China is now such an important market for our industry that we feel it needs a dedicated senior executive, managing [our] operations. John is a highly experienced leader within our company, and his knowledge and expertise will be invaluable in developing our presence in China.”

John Wheeler, currently based in the US, will relocate to Shanghai for the role, reporting directly to Etchart. A well known individual in the industry, Wheeler has worked for Manitowoc in a number of positions, including EVP of the Americas region, and EVP of operational excellence.

Manitowoc already has a strong customer base in Chinam with a factory for Potain tower cranes, Manitowoc crawler cranes and DongYue mobile cranes. Wheeler’s task will be to pursue further opportunities available in China; a crane market perceived by Manitowoc to be the largest in the world.

Giles Martin will relocate from Shanghai to Singapore and will continue to report to Eric Etchart. Manitowoc anticipates growth in many countries throughout the Asia-Pacific area, such as India and Australia. Martin will put his experience in these markets to pursue potential growth opportunities available, and will continue to manage all marketing activity in the region.

As well as managing sales and marketing operations, Martin will also take responsibility for Manitowoc’s tower crane factory in Pune, India, and its license agreement for Grove rough-terrain cranes with TIL in Kolkata, India.