Tom Day has over 12 years’ experience in the bus and coach and commercial vehicle sectors, in both an active engineering and management roles.
Ryder, the provider of commercial vehicle contract hire, rental, and maintenance services, has appointed Phil Ashton (above) to the position of business development director. Ashton joins Ryder from trailer manufacturer Montracon, where he held the position of sales and marketing director. Prior to joining Montracon, Phil clocked up 17 years’ continuous service at Ryder as head of area sales. Reporting to John Murray, Ryder’s sales and marketing director, Ashton is focusing on business growth, predominantly targeting large lease accounts for Ryder.
IVECO has appointed Gareth Lumsdaine (above) as business line director truck and Mike Cutts to the position of Business Line Director LCV. They mark the first major appointments under Sascha Kaehne, who has led IVECO in the UK and Ireland as business director since May 2019. Lumsdaine arrives at IVECO with 12 years of experience working with automotive OEMs, including the last 18 months as network sales director of Renault Trucks. He was previously at Suzuki GB for more than a decade, holding positions including general manager of dealer development, and sales and marketing manager for the firm’s marine and ATV business. Speaking about his new role, he says: “I’m looking forward to working with a fantastic network of dealers as we prepare to bring the new IVECO S-WAY into the market early next year. Cutts brings 15 years’ experience working in the automotive sector, including six years at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles between 2012 and 2018. Prior to joining IVECO, he spent 12 months at Pod Point as head of sales for Homecharge, Fleet and Leasing in the electric vehicle charging sector.
In other news, IVECO has announced the appointment of Thomas Hilse (above) as its new brand president. In this role, effective from November 1, he will take on global product management, sales, marketing and network development responsibility for the IVECO brand, tasked with building on the company’s position and expanding its presence in the world markets. He will be based in Turin, Italy. Hilse joins IVECO with 22 years of experience gained in the commercial vehicle industry through various international management positions for different brands in Europe, the Americas and South-East Asia. His roles have covered all aspects of the business, from sales and business development, to customer service and product planning, reaching the position of CEO. He studied mechanical engineering and business administration, and holds an MA in international relations.
_1e1b1b8a.jpg)
Sam Whittaker (above) is the new national sales director at Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK. He joined Mercedes-Benz UK as a trainee in 1992, and since 1997 has worked for the truck business unit in a succession of increasingly senior management positions covering all aspects of vehicle sales, marketing, key account management and aftersales. His most recent role was that of customer service & parts director. He will be responsible for all Mercedes-Benz and FUSO new truck sales and used truck remarketing activities, oversee the manufacturer’s truck connectivity business, as well as its TRUCKTraining and product demonstration operations, and the new Mercedes-Benz Truck Experience Centre at Wentworth Park, near Barnsley.
Telematics firm Teletrac Navman has appointed Dr. Jens Meggers (above) as president. Meggers will drive the strategic direction of the company, ensuring product evolution with a focus on artificial intelligence. Prior to joining Teletrac Navman, he was part of the leadership team at AI technology startup, Huddl.ai. He also previously served as senior vice president and general manager for Cisco Corporation’s Cloud Collaboration business and held several senior executive positions at cybersecurity fim Symantec Corporation. “The transportation and construction sectors are at a pivotal time in their digital transformation,” said Dr. Meggers. “There is a substantial market opportunity ahead for Teletrac Navman to bring in the latest technology and intelligence to these organisations. Using an AI-first approach, we are doubling down on our product development to give our customers previously unachievable visibility and insight into their mobile assets.”
Rafael Sterling became the new chief executive officer of Irizar Group on 1 September, replacing José Manuel Orcasitas, who retired after 26 years at the company. Sterling holds an MS in telecommunications engineering from the University of the Basque Country and an executive MBA from Deusto Business School. Prior to his appointment,he was the international business director of the Irizar Group, which is comprised of 7 brands (Irizar, Irizar e-mobility, Alconza, Datik, Hispacold, Masats and Jema) that have production operations in 13 production plants (in Spain, Morocco, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa) in addition to its own R&D centre. It has 3,350 staff and celebrates its 130th birthday in 2019.
Fleet Assist has appointed Carl Blott as its finance director. Blott has taken on the role full-time, having fulfilled the job on a contract basis since November last year. The company provides its customers, contract hire and leasing companies, with access to a network of more than 5,000 outlets undertaking service, maintenance and repair work on company vans and cars. The company, which employs 50, recently completed a move to new headquarters in Huntingdon.
Updated 14 November 2019: removed one appointment after the staff member departed.