ACFO has seconded Denise Lane in an advisory capacity to its board to succeed Julie Jenner, who steps down at the end of the year.

The appointment means that ACFO’s six-strong board will be composed of five practicing fleet managers - believed to be the largest number in the organisation’s 42-year history.

Lane, head of group fleet at Capita, brings more than 20 years industry experience to the ACFO board having been fleet manager at the then Cable London organisation prior to joining Capita in 2002.

In charge of a mixed fleet of 3,500 vehicles including company cars, light commercial vehicles and a wide range of larger vehicles, she has been seconded to the board until ACFO’s next annual meeting in May 2015. She will then decide whether or not to seek election to the board.

A member of ACFO’s London East Region, she said: “I hope that ACFO and other fleet managers will benefit from my many years’ experience of running large and mixed vehicle fleets.

“I have benefited over the years from ACFO’s knowledge bank and the ability to discuss key issues with fellow fleet managers, and feel that joining the board, alongside my role at Capita, offers an opportunity for me to invest time in and add value to the industry in which I work.”

ACFO chairman John Pryor said: “We are pleased that the ACFO board will benefit from Denise’s vast wealth of fleet knowledge and experience built up over many years.

“I am also delighted that for the first time the ACFO board will comprise five active fleet managers. Each fleet manager runs a very varied operation so they bring a wide cross-section of expertise to the organisation, which benefits the entire ACFO membership.”

The board is completed by deputy chairman Caroline Sandall, fleet manager at Barclays Bank; Phil Redman, fleet manager, IBM UK; Debbie Floyde, group fleet and risk manager at Bauer Media; and Richard Baird, head of new business development at Marshall Leasing.

Jenner announced last month that she would step down from the board having been a director for 11 years due to promotion to a new pan-European strategic account manager post with her employer, GE Capital Fleet Services.