His more than two-decade tenure makes him Australia’s longest-serving automotive public relations manager.

Starting out in journalism with the Yorkshire Evening Post before moving to Australia in 1988 and becoming an aviation journalist, Mr Rowley also worked for The Australian newspaper as a reporter and night chief of staff.

Mr Rowley joined Subaru Australia in January 2000 after three years with Honda. Prior to entering the automotive industry, he had been an account manager at PR consultancy Macro, and held several public affairs and media relations roles with Qantas.

“As a relatively late entrant into automotive in my mid-30s, I was fortunate that the Subaru chiefs back in the day, Trevor Amery and Nick Senior, were prepared to take a risk on someone with so little industry experience,” Mr Rowley said.

He described working with Subaru as “a privilege” and said the people within the company, even more so than the products and the brand behind them, were what “fuelled my PR passion”.

Subaru Australia general manager Blair Read credited Mr Rowley as being “instrumental in building the Subaru brand and cementing its reputation in the Australian market, including the successes in motorsport that the brand is still known for today”.

“We are privileged to be able to continue on this journey with the strong foundations he has set in place and are eternally grateful for Dave’s significant contribution over the past two decades,” he said.

“We wish him all the very best and many wonderful adventures in his retirement.”

Respected and admired throughout the automotive industry, Mr Rowley forged strong and long-lasting relationships on both sides of the media fence.

Over the years he has inspired and mentored PR counterparts who look up to his professional but ever-personable style, and appreciated by journalists for instinctively balancing their needs with the priorities of his employer.

His sense of empathy with the media was borne out in Mr Rowley’s retirement announcement.

“I’m grateful to the many automotive media contacts whose interest in all things Subaru has kept me gainfully employed,” he said.

“The media landscape continues to evolve rapidly, with ever-increasing deadline demands –  and multi-skilling across different platforms –  making a hugely challenging environment. They have my admiration, as do my wonderful Subaru colleagues.”

As well as successful product launches and brand development, Mr Rowley was also credited for his contribution to Subaru’s local motorsport prowess.

During his time with Subaru, the brand has become a successful household name in Australia and excelled in motorsport with six Australian Rally Championship wins with Possum Bourne, Cody Crocker and Molly Taylor at the wheel.

Ms Taylor was Australia’s first female rally champion and, at the time, the youngest driver to take the title.

By Neil Dowling