Porsche has announced the appointment of Deesch Papke as Chief Executive Officer of the wholly owned subsidiary importer organisation, Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE, effective as of June.

Prior to his most recent role as head of Porsche China held from July 2013, Papke was responsible for the Region Overseas and Emerging Markets with Porsche AG in Germany. From 2005 to 2011 he was the managing director of Porsche’s Middle East and Africa office. Papke succeeds Christer Ekberg who moves back to Porsche Asia Pacific in Singapore with a new function.

As CEO, operating from Porsche’s regional office in Dubai, South Africa-born Papke will be responsible for driving the brand’s growth across 23 countries in the GCC, Levant, Africa and India. Key to this will be ensuring that Porsche’s exceptional standards of professionalism are maintained across the regional network, focusing on market penetration and enhancing existing facilities.

Deesch Papke, CEO, Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE, said: “I return to the region at a challenging time with the global economy still in recovery and some areas of the Middle East facing internal as well as external difficulties. Despite this, I believe we are in a strong position to move forward and there are various opportunities upon which we can further develop the Porsche business. We have excellent business partners to work with in our region and I look forward to utilising my experience, gained most recently in Germany and China, to further build upon Porsche’s exceptional name in the region.

“To do this we cannot focus solely on developing new markets. We must be meticulous in ensuring our existing partners have the tools and processes in place which will help them to not only exact and exemplify Porsche’s high standards, but take them to new heights for performance and customer satisfaction.”

Starting his career in management roles for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Land Rover as well as for Volvo in South Africa and Russia, Papke has many years of multi-market and brand experience within the global automotive sector. His first role with Porsche came as the managing director of the Middle East and Africa subsidiary in 2005, where Papke oversaw the extensive development of the regional operation.

During his six-year tenure, sales results grew by 95 percent, while the number of regional sales facilities increased from 18 to 31. In 2005, Papke led the regional introduction of the Porsche Boxster, while in 2009, he laid the groundwork for the Panamera which would go on to be one of the most popular Porsche models in the region.

Currently, a team of 50 professionals supports Porsche’s operation across 23 countries, 24 importers and 66 Porsche facilities in the GCC, Levant, Africa and India.