Andy Tempest, CEO of Emerald Automotive
By Leisa Zigman, I-Team Reporter
St. Louis, MO (KSDK) - A lot of viewers, from skeptics to optimists, want to know more about Andy Tempest, the man behind Emerald Automotive.
The 56-year-old Tempest has more than two decades of executive experience within the automotive sector. In the early 90s he was Finance Director and Chief Operating Officer of Group Lotus. During that time, he helped launch the Lotus Elise sports car, which is known for its fiberglass body, aluminum chassis, and speeds of up to 150 miles per hour.
In 1995, the controlling owner of Lotus fired Tempest and another director. Published reports accused the executives of secretly trying to sell Lotus to the South Korean car-maker Kia without telling their boss.
Tempest described the incident to KSDK as a difference between share holders and the board of directors, of which he was a member. Tempest sued for wrongful termination. The owner counter-sued, and according to Tempest both sides reached a settlement.
"They dropped all accusations and charges and gave us total exoneration," Tempest said.
As of news time, NewsChannel 5 could not independently verify the settlement agreement through the British courts.
Tempest was CEO of Hawtal Whiting, a global engineering design consultancy and managing director of Prodrive, a motorsport and automotive technology business.
In 2007 he founded AGT Strategic Consulting and worked on new ultra low emissions lightweight delivery vans. This year, with UK based Intelligent Energy Holdings, Tempest formed Emerald Automotive. Tempest's sole responsibility now is working as CEO of Emerald.
Tempest described himself as "very focused, and very driven, reasonably hard but very consistent."
"At the end of the day we are here to make money," he said. "We are here to deliver a product the customer wants and we are here to let the workforce share in that."
Tempest lives in England, but says he plans to spend a lot of time in St. Louis and play an active role in the community. His primary goal he says is growing Emerald domestically and globally.
KSDK