LATEST appointments in the fleet industry.

Tyre chief appointed

PAUL Collins has been put in charge of a new fleet service from tyre supplier Black Circles.com.

As fleet sales manager, he is responsible for managing UK accounts and finding new customers.

Collins has more than 12 years experience as a product development and business manager in the tourism and hospitality sector.

He has amassed considerable knowledge in delivering customer-friendly e-commerce platforms and prior to joining Black Circles was director of Southern Upland Way, promoting walking tourism in Scotland.

Black Circles Fleet claims to be able to supply tyres to fleets anywhere in the UK within two hours and is available to fleets of any size.

LEASEWAY Vehicle Rental has welcomed two new arrivals to its nationwide sales team.

Lee Hall joins as regional sales manager for the North East. He arrives from an equivalent position at rival firm GE TLS and brings more than 17 years’ rental industry experience. Paul Neal has been appointed sales manager for the London depot. Hall joins Leaseway from Northgate Vehicle Rental, where he had worked for four years.

  • PHIL Davies is now in charge of Blaupunkt Car Multimedia’s UK corporate sales operation. He is focusing on contract hire, daily rental and major fleets, having previously held a similar role with Trafficmaster. Davies’ prior positions included time at Remploy Automotive, Daewoo Cars, Nissan Motor GB and Rover.

  • NEWTOWN Vehicle Rentals has two new directors, Mick Harrison and David Edwards. Edwards is operations director, while Harrison becomes commercial director. Edwards joins Newtown from Ryder where, as director of logistics and a member of the European board and leadership group, he was responsible for 30 UK sites. He began his career as an officer in the Parachute Regiment before joining TNT Automotive Logistics. He then moved to Hays Logistics.

    Harrison has held a number of senior financial positions, starting out at TNT Retail Express. He too then moved to Hays Logistics.

  • KIA Motors UK has appointed Stephen Kitson as communications director. In addition to his existing responsibility for press and public relations, he will also be developing Kia’s internal communications and corporate identity.

    Kitson joined Kia in February 2004 from the Hyundai World Rally Team, where he had been in charge of marketing and press relations for two years.

    Before that, he was director of international public relations at Hyundai Motor Company’s head office in Seoul, Korea. A former motoring journalist, Kitson has been involved in the automotive industry in press and public relations activities since 1986.

  • THE Highways Agency has two new financial directors. Stephen Dauncey joins as financial director, traffic operations, and Paul Williamson as financial director, major projects.

    Dauncey arrives from the Atomic Weapons Establishment, and prior to that nuclear power firm Magnox Electric. Williamson joins from the British Waterways Board, where he was financial controller.

  • FOUR new appointments have been made to the new business sales team at GE Commercial Finance Fleet Services.

    Dane Kaufman has spent 15 years in the fleet industry, both in sales and management positions. His experience includes spells at AT&T Automotive Services, First National Vehicle Contracts and Pendragon Contracts.

    David Raponi has been in the motor industry for 14 years, starting as a project manager for Rover Group and later spending seven years in the daily rental sector. He has recently worked for VELO and Pendragon Contracts.

    Paul Stephenson has worked in fleet industry sales since 1997 for LeasePlan, Custom Fleet and Lombard Vehicle Management. Aron Yadav joins from Welcome Financial Services, where he won first place in the UK Sales Manager Award for two years in succession. He has also worked as a business manager for a main dealer group.

  • CAR supermarket Motorpoint has appointed Lucy Dorman as press officer. Dorman is a PR graduate from Central Lancashire University and has worked in public and press relations for a number of companies including Boots the Chemist.

  • BEN, the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund, has appointed Fiona Gorman as head of welfare. Gorman joined BEN in 2003 as welfare officer for the south-east. She will be responsible for BEN’s welfare services and offices, which support more than 15,000 people across the UK.