Manisha our new CMO behind the wheel Manisha Seewal has recently joined Gumtree CarsGuide Autotrader in the role of Chief Marketing Officer. She comes to us after a highly successful stint as CMO for Singapore-based used car marketplace, Carro. CarsGuide Editor Malcolm Flynn sat down with Manisha during her first week in her new role. MF: Manisha, welcome to Australia and the new job! You’ve been here a few weeks now - what appeals to you most about living in Australia? MS: I love the way Sydney comes alive really early in the morning. I’m a morning person and to have the sunrise at 5:30am is a real blessing. When I go for a run at 6am the city if buzzing with energy. It’s a very different experience for me, because for the past 20 years of living in Singapore, the sun doesn’t rise before 7am. So its quite dark when you exercise in the morning, but in Sydney things are open early. I love the energy, the people are friendly and in the evenings the pubs are so happening. And of course everything’s cheaper compared to Singapore, including cars. MF: I’ve heard a rumour that you don’t just work with cars, but you’re a bit of a car fan as well. Where did your love of cars come from? MS: When I was really young, I think I was 13, I learned how to drive a manual car at home in India. It was my Mum’s car. My uncle would secretly take me out driving for lessons while my Mum was working as a doctor in the hospital. I got a rush from doing something that was a little bit naughty and not allowed. I loved the speed, even though it was just a tiny Maruti Suzuki with an 800cc engine - they sold millions of them in India. But that feeling of rolling down the window and having the wind on your face and in your hair was just magical.
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MF: What was the first car you owned? MS: It was also a Suzuki 800, a blue Maruti-Suzuki, and I drove it for close to a year. I loved that after a certain speed like maybe 70km/h - the steering wheel would start shaking. MF: Which car would you buy if you had no budget limit? MS: If I didn’t have a budget I think I would want to get a Bugatti. MF: So that’s 16 cylinders and four turbos, fastest car in the world status. MS: I’d probably have to find a road where there’s no speed limit and just go for it. Can you imagine going from a MarutiSuzuki 800 to a Bugatti?! MF: What drew you to work in the auto industry? MS: My love of cars and because I changed 10 cars in 14 years in Singapore, which is one of the world’s most expensive places to buy a car. As a car seller, I went through the whole buying and selling of the cars myself. I went from dealership to dealership, sometimes putting it up on the classifieds myself and dealing directly with the sellers. I felt the entire experience of buying and selling used cars was really terrible. We have progressed so much technologically, then why is this industry so backward? Why can’t we digitise the car buying and selling experience and make it simpler?
Traction
