Zenith appoints Tom Brewer to lead rental proposition
Tom Brewer has been appointed by Zenith to lead its national rental offering, which provides cars and specialist vehicles on both short and long-term hire.
Last year, it supplied more than 1.7 million rental days across more than 600 corporate customers.
Sitting within the group’s corporate and consumer division, Brewer will manage the company’s 40-strong in-house rental team and will focus on supporting Zenith’s existing lease customers with their rental needs as well as building the direct rental customer base.
With more than 23 years’ experience in the automotive sector, he joins Zenith from Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS), where he was most recently fleet sales director.
He has also held previous positions at Enterprise, Europcar and LeasePlan UK.
Ian Hughes, CEO of the corporate and consumer division, said: “We’re incredibly proud of our rental offering, which provides unrivalled vehicle availability, exceptional customer service and a fully integrated solution for our customers.
“Tom’s experience and commercial acumen will enable him to continue the great performance while charting the course for future growth and development. We look forward to welcoming him to the team.”
Brewer, who officially starts in September, added: “It’s great to be returning to the rental industry where I started my career over 20 years ago and I’m really looking forward to working with the team to further enhance our proposition.
“Rental will play a critical part of the mobility landscape over the coming years as suppliers, corporate customers and drivers navigate new technologies, seek unrivalled flexibility and transition towards net zero.”
Previous rental CEO, Andrew Kirby, took on a new role to lead the group’s transformation programme, which will see the business move onto one asset management platform.
Ayvens appoints new head of investor relations
Ayvens has announced the appointment of Stéphane Marty as head of financial communication and investor relations, effective from August 1.
He succeeds Béatrice Lan-Shun, who has been appointed deputy chief financial officer, in charge of strategic financial planning.
Marty will report to Patrick Sommelet, deputy chief executive officer and chief financial officer of Ayvens.
Marty started his career at Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking in 1999, first in the equity capital markets origination team, followed by the corporate equity sales desk, where he oversaw a portfolio of large European corporates.
In 2006, he was appointed investor relations officer at Societe Generale. From 2011, he has held various senior roles in the global banking and investor solutions finance department.
Since 2019, Stéphane has been chief financial officer for GBIS Technology and Operations business unit.
Marty holds a BA Honours in European Economics from Middlesex University and Master’s degrees in finance from Tilburg Universiteit and Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne University.
New UK forecast manager appointment at Cap HPI
Paul Titchmarsh has been appointed as UK forecast manager for Cap HPI and joins the team responsible for managing the company’s new and used car forecast data.
He joins from JCT600, where he held several senior positions, most recently as operations director. He also has experience in the fleet and rental sectors with Zenith and Global Autocare.
He replaces Jeff Knight, who retired from the same role in the business in June after 23 years at Cap HPI in various roles.
Dylan Setterfield, head of forecast strategy at Cap HPI, said: “Jeff is a familiar face in the industry, and he spent over 23 years at Cap HPI, making an invaluable contribution to the company and the wider automotive sector.
“He was a hugely respected team member, whose expertise and extensive experience were valued by colleagues and customers across the board.
“We’re pleased to welcome Paul onboard and look forward to benefitting from his insight from a career that spans multiple sectors and senior roles at some of the industry’s most respected companies.”
The Cap HPI valuations team produces forecast vehicle values for up to five years, providing insights that support the industry in everything from pricing to finance decisions.
Data is provided up to 60 months into the future for new and used vehicles up to five years old today.
Titchmarsh said: “I’ve worked with Cap HPI in various roles over the years and grew to respect the expertise of the team and the power of the data they provide to the industry. It’s great to be a part of the team now, and I look forward to supporting the team in the future.”
Aston Barclay Remarketing appoints new chief revenue officer
Aston Barclay has appointed Gordon Inglis as chief revenue officer (CRO) to accelerate growth.
He joins from Carwow where he has spent the past four and a half years, most recently as principal head of sales. Prior to that he spent eight years at BCA focusing on growing dealer business in the north of the UK.
In the newly created and stand-alone role of CRO, he will be charged with generating UK-wide new business.
Greg MacLeod, executive chairman of Aston Barclay, said: “To ensure that we continue to be the compelling alternative in the market, we are focused on providing an excellent customer service, as well as expanding our sales programme in both cars and LCVs across our six strategically located sites.
“Gordon’s expertise and leadership will attract additional volume to a business that continues to experience year-on-year volume growth.
“I am delighted with our new and enhanced leadership team. For top talent in UK remarketing, this is the place to be.”
Inglis added: “I am delighted to be joining Aston Barclay. The business has an excellent and award-winning proposition, and real potential for future growth.
“I am excited to be joining the team at this exciting stage of their journey, and I look forward to introducing the business to many new customers.”