Bentley's new British boss: Adrian Hallmark, 55, will become the new boss of Bentley Motors from Febuary 2018, it was confirmed

A Briton is to take over the driving seat of luxury car-maker Bentley after years of the Volkswagen-owned firm being led by German bosses.

Adrian Hallmark, 55, is named today (Friday) as the new chief executive of the Crewe-based luxury car brand, moving from Jaguar Land Rover where he has been group strategy director for the past four years, and in charge of the Jaguar brand for nearly three years before that.

Bentley made the official announcement after the news was broken exclusively by This is Money.

Former Wolverhampton University student Mr Hallmark will replace incumbent Bentley chairman and chief executive Wolfgang Duerheimer who will retire from the firm.

The last British boss of Bentley - which has been owned by under-fire German manufacturer Volkswagen Group since 1998 - was Tony Gott who held the post from 1998 to 2001. Hallmark will be the brand's new chairman and ceo starting on 1 February 2018.

The move puts a British ‘Bentley Boy’ back at the helm of the firm that employs around 4,000 people in Crewe and sells heavily on the Britishness of its vehicles, including the latest Bentley Continental GT.

Rumours of the switch first emerged last month in Germany’s well-connected Manager Magazin, known to have close connections with the man Volkswagen Group board in Germany.

The move is a plum post for engineer and metallurgist Hallmark, who is an acknowledged expert on the luxury and super-luxury car-market and who previously served on the main Bentley board in charge of sales and marketing for six years between 1999 and 2005, playing an integral role in the introduction of the sector-defining Continental GT in 2003.

A French and German speaker, he was also executive vice president for Volkswagen of America between 2005 and 2008 and regional director for Volkswagen AG Asia in Asia until October 2009.

Adrian Hallmark was previously global brand director and group strategy director at Jaguar Land Rover

Wolfgang Duerheimer, who was also ceo of Bugatti, had expressed a desire to quit his posts to VW’s top management, according to a German magazine close to the car maker. He will retire from the firm, Bentley confirmed

In his latest role, Hallmark joined Jaguar Land Rover as global brand director on 1 December 2010, and from 1 November 2013 took responsibility for a new position as group strategy director.

At JLR he held group responsibility for corporate, product, industrial and business strategy, and was a member of Jaguar Land Rover's Executive Committee.

He studied both Mechanical Engineering and Metallurgy at the University of Wolverhampton and later went on to complete a Diploma in Management at Henley Management College.

Hallmark's career has also encompassed roles at Saab and Porsche.

Hallmark will be at the helm of the firm that employs around 4,000 people in Crewe and sells heavily on the Britishness of its vehicles, including the latest Bentley Continental GT (pictured)

Commenting on the new appointment, Matthias Müller, chief executive officer of the Volkswagen Group, said: 'I am delighted to welcome Adrian Hallmark back to the Volkswagen Group, and back to Bentley Motors.

'He brings a wealth of international automotive experience coupled with a deep understanding of the Bentley brand and I am confident he will lead this extraordinary British company to even greater success.'

Bentley also announced three new board level appointments – including another Briton - as part of its leadership shake-up with new board members for engineering; sales and marketing; and ‘people, digitalisation and IT'.

Briton, Chris Craft, 58, becomes board member for sales and marketing, succeeding Dr. Andreas Offermann, 60.

Mr Hallmark pictured during his previous role at Bentley in charge of sales and marketing for six years between 1999 and 2005

Craft led Porsche Great Britain as managing director and was formerly director of Volkswagen UK, director of Skoda UK and has also held senior management roles during his 24 year career with the Volkswagen Group.

Bentley was founded in 1919. After a bidding war with rival BMW in 1998, Germany’s Volkswagen Group struck a deal to take over Bentley from Vickers, achieving sole control from 2003.

In the past four years, Bentley Motors has sold more than 10,000 cars annually and had and five consecutive years achieving a profit above €100 million.

Manager Magazin had reported that outgoing Duerheimer – who was is also ceo of Bugatti - had expressed ‘ a desire to quit’.

It is believed to be the first time a Briton has led Bentley for around 20 years since soon after the Volkswagen take-over, and certainly well over a decade.

The move is understood to be part of a wider shake-up by the Volkswagen Group as it continues to reshape the business in the aftermath of the dieselgate emissions cheating scandal.