Thetford CEO Stéphane Cordeille recently announced changes in Thetford’s leadership team, which will be effective Jan. 1, 2025.
Cordeille said that the main responsibility of leadership in an organization is to ensure the organization’s continuity. When asked whether he is leaving Thetford and the RV industry, Thetford said his first response was with a smile: “Don’t start celebrating, I’m not gone yet!” He followed that with, “But as a responsible leadership team we need to prepare Thetford for the future. I’m delighted that we identified leadership within our organization. They have proven their skills and have enjoyed working in the RV industry for many years.
“This new generation carries out the Thetford values and will safeguard the organization’s culture. I truly believe that the Thetford values and strong customer focus are our main strengths, so for me it’s essential that these values are protected and carried on. I’m fully convinced that with the organizational changes we will be making per Jan. 1, this goal will be reached. We are approaching this change from a global angle, because we are a global company.”
Thetford Europe & APAC
Marie Boulanger will be promoted to managing director of Thetford Europe and APAC. Boulanger joined Thetford in 2008 and has held various positions within Thetford. She has been the sales and marketing director since May 2022. In her new role, she will, next to her sales responsibilities, manage and lead Thetford BV and its sales subsidiaries. Cordeille said, “Marie has a strong track record within Thetford and is highly appreciated by our customers. With her ‘customer first’ mentality she will safeguard the Thetford values and culture.”
Several significant changes have been implemented and will continue to be introduced within the European and APAC organization. Recently, the role of general manager at GmbH transitioned from Ralf Nießen to Matthias Baumgärtner. Moreover, Sam Yang, Thetford’s general manager for Asia, transfers his role to Daniel Dunn. Cordeille said, “Daniel has shown strong leadership in his role of general manager for Australia/New-Zealand for the past seven years, and is now expanding his responsibilities towards Asia, becoming general manager APAC. In the United Kingdom, Martin Henderson is retiring as plant manager forThetford Ltd. After 20 years of experience at the OEM side of the RV industry, Martin moved to Thetford in Jan. 1, 2016, where he started working with former employers and competitors. Martin will be succeeded by Gareth Peacock, who in the role of Lean Specialist has already added much value to the operation of Thetford’s Rotherham cooking appliances factory.”
Thetford North America
“Within the North American region, Mary Pouliot is our strongest leader,” Cordeille said. “She began her Thetford journey 19 years ago in a customer service role. In recent years, she has successfully guided our business through challenging times and prepared our American organization for the future. Mary will now serve as our executive vice president for North America, overseeing Thetford, Norcold, Nova Kool and B&B Molders.”
Global Development
As a global company, Thetford is managing more and more business aspects in a global manner. Cordeille said, “Although all regional markets have their specific characteristics, we see opportunities for synergy in terms of research & development, as well as product management. Ronald Gram will take the lead here, in the role of global vice president product management and research & development. Ronald has shown his commitment to Thetford and the RV market for years and has revealed his leadership and practical common sense regarding portfolio and project management.
“I am happy that we have a new generation of leadership on board who, as mentioned, will safeguard our values and culture,” Cordeille said. “That finally brings me to Bartho Anderson. From his global HR executive role, Bartho has been contributing to the Thetford culture on a daily basis for many years, selecting the right people, building strong teams, fostering collaboration and coaching and inspiring core players one-on-one. Bartho serves as a catalyst for collaboration, seamlessly facilitating communication and cooperation across different business units. From Jan. 1, he will take up the position of chief administrative officer.”
