Great Scott: Piers Scott is looking forward to renewing his close affiliations with the auto industry in Australia and New Zealand with his appointment as McLaren’s new global communications and PR director.

FORMER BMW Group Australia head of corporate communications, Piers Scott, has joined McLaren Automotive as its new global communications and PR director.

Reporting to McLaren’s executive director of global sales and marketing Jolyon Nash, Mr Scott joins the British supercar marque after more than a decade with the German prestige car-maker, having moved up through the ranks in New Zealand and Australia before relocating to England early in 2013 to become general manager of product and internal communications for BMW Group UK.

A Kiwi, which is a neat link with McLaren Automotive seeing its founder, Bruce McLaren, was an Aucklander, Mr Scott worked for several years in various PR roles outside the automotive industry before serving for BMW Group NZ from the mid-2000s – initially as a consultant and later as an employee.

In 2010, he relocated to Australia to head up corporate communications for the BMW, Mini and Motorrad brands in both countries.

Mr Scott, who grew up in the Auckland suburb of Remuera just a few streets away from the original McLaren family petrol station and workshop, told GoAuto that he was super excited for the chance to again work with colleagues and associates in the Antipodes with his appointment to McLaren, which sees him responsible for overseeing the media communications of the fast-growing company worldwide.

He arrives at McLaren headquarters in Woking, England, after the recent launch of the 600LT Spider and 720S Spider, and under McLaren’s ‘Track25’ business plan a further 15 models will be introduced by 2025.

These include the recently revealed McLaren GT which will soon begin entering global markets.

Mr Scott fills the role made vacant when Wayne Bruce left the company in April to become director of communications at Bentley Motors.

McLaren’s vice-president of PR and communications for North America, Roger Ormisher, had been overseeing the global PR operations on an interim basis.

By Terry Martin