Hyundai Motor America (HMA) has named auto industry veteran Edward F. Bradley as vice president, national sales. Bradley comes to Hyundai from the Jim Moran and Associates Group (Southeast Toyota distributorship) where he worked for the past seven years and most recently held the position of vice president and general manager of Century Warranty Services.

The appointment was announced by Hyundai Motor America President and CEO Robert F. Cosmai. "I am pleased to have Ed Bradley join our Hyundai team," Cosmai said. "Ed and I worked together at Nissan and I have known him for 15 years. I look forward to working with Ed to continue increasing Hyundai sales in the U.S."

With this announcement Cosmai is essentially replacing his previous position in the HMA organization. Cosmai served as vice president, national sales during Hyundai's turnaround in the U.S. where he and his team increased sales by more than 300 percent in the five years from 1999 through the current period.

Bradley, following graduation from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a Master's of Business Administration degree, began his automotive sales career with Ford Motor Co. From Ford he moved to Nissan Motor Corp. USA where he spent 12 years in a number of key positions with both Nissan and Infiniti.

In addition to his most recent position at Century Warranty Services, Bradley held senior management positions at JM&A Group and World Omni Finance Corp.

Cosmai Announces Key Executive Appointments

Cosmai also announced other key executive appointments at Hyundai Motor America.

Mark Barnes, a 21-year veteran of the automotive industry, has been named general manager of Hyundai Motor America's Southern Region. Barnes, who has extensive wholesale sales experience with Nissan, will be responsible for all sales, marketing and parts and service operations in the region.

The appointment was made following the recent untimely death of Jim Hurban, who held the position for several years. "Jim Hurban was deeply respected by both our dealers and Hyundai Motor America. He will be greatly missed by all who know him," said Barnes.

Cosmai also announced the appointment of Mark Cronin as Hyundai Motor America's Eastern Region general manager. Cronin has nearly 20 years of experience in the automotive industry and for the past 13 years has held various executive sales positions at American Honda Motor Co., in both the Honda and Acura divisions. Most recently Cronin was Northeast Zone sales manager for Honda. "Mark Cronin and I also worked together at the Acura Division for several years and I look forward to working with him once again," said Cosmai.

At Hyundai's U.S. headquarters, Kathi Neuman, a 17-year HMA employee with extensive experience in field sales and marketing, replaces Mark Barnes as director, national sales operations and Bob Neis replaces Neuman as director, fleet and temarketing. Neis spent 15 years at Toyota Motor Sales and was most recently regional sales manager for the Western Region at Hyundai Motor America.

"Each of these talented professionals serves to strengthen our management team," Cosmai said. "We will work together to build the Hyundai brand in the U.S. and also continue to increase our sales momentum."

About Hyundai Motor America

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea.

Hyundai cars and sport utility vehicles are distributed in the U.S. by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced by more than 600 dealers throughout the nation.