GARY Savage. He is something of a departure. The bosses at Citroen UK have always been French, and treated Citroen UK as a career staging post on the ladder up the corporate Citroen structure.

Until now. Gary is a Mr Savage, rather than a M Savage.

“It helps I don’t speak French. So I can’t read what they send me,” says Gary. The result is , for the first time, Citroen is getting some brand tlc in the UK, rather than just being a discount shop – and a proving ground for those Citroen corporate climbers.

“It means we’re looking more towards the network now, rather than towards France. And that’s a big change,” explains Gary.

I was at a press conference to explain more about Citroen’s new Business Centre strategy. “We’re increasing our local business development managers so that our dealers can communicate with small businesses,” Gary adds, who also explains the new appointment of Andrew Wady – formerly of Audi – to the post of fleet director. While Andy will be detailed to work on the large company business, part of his brief is to look after small businesses and their rather different requirements. “It’s one of the reasons why we appointed Andy to the role.”

I’ve always enjoyed Gary’s company, from when I first met him at SEAT, before he then transferred to Audi and thereafter I lost track. Until today. His wry observations have always been amusing. Even if now, as a managing director, he is rather more circumspect. And constantly glued to a Blackberry.

There was also a lovely display of some old Citroen vans. Their utter simplicity was charming, as was the elegance of some of the detailing – such as the intricate curvature of the door handles: functional but stylish.

Also on display was the Citroen 2CV Fourgonnette from the 1950s – the van that enabled thousands of small businesses to start trading all over France.

Gary Savage, Citroen’s first non-French UK MD