In a surprise announcement, Child said that he had thoroughly enjoyed his 16 years with the company but now felt that he had done as much as he could with the organisation.
He said it was time to hand over the reins to a younger generation of marketeers; he will take a break before deciding on his next step.
Child spent 18 years with DAF before joining the board of Isuzu Truck in September 2000, initially as PR and marketing director. In 2004, he was part of the team that led the management buy-out of the company from RAC plc and became marketing director.
Three years ago, Child was part of the team that successfully negotiated the sale of the business to Isuzu Motors, of Japan. He was retained as marketing director and legal board member by the new owners.
He was responsible for several of Isuzu’s best known range names – the ‘Grafter’ for the company’s 3.5-tonne range, ‘Easyshift’ for Isuzu’s automated transmission and ‘Urban’ for the company’s new Euro 6, lightweight, 7.5-tonner.
Seasoned visitors to the CV Show will remember Child for his customer hospitality on the Isuzu Truck stand, in the form of bangers and mash.
Pete Murphy, managing director of Isuzu Truck (UK), said; “We would all like to thank Keith for his considerable contribution to the success of Isuzu Truck (UK) over the past 16 years, and we wish him the very best for the future.”