Industry jobs: Roles filled at Zigup, IMI, Allianz Partners and Fleet Assist

Zigup appoints new fleet director

Zigup plc has announced the appointment of Matt Slater (pictured above) as its new fleet director, following the retirement of Tim Bailey after 16 years with the company.

Bailey began his career in the late 1980s with Alamo Rent a Car and has worked in several senior leadership roles. In March, he was awarded the Freddie Aldous Outstanding Contribution Award by the BVRLA for his outstanding contribution to the sector.

Zigup CEO, Martin Ward, said: “Tim’s impact on Zigup - and the industry - has been substantial. His depth of knowledge and leadership have been instrumental to our success to date."

"On behalf of the business, I want to thank Tim for his valuable contribution. We wish him all the best for a well-earned retirement.”

His replacement Slater brings extensive automotive and fleet leadership experience to the role.

Slater held several leadership positions across a 16-year tenure at Ford Motor Company, which he followed with nine years as sales director at West Wallasey Car Hire Services. He has also worked with a range of automotive clients on strategic fleet initiatives as a consultant.

Ward said: “We are delighted to welcome Matt to Zigup. His deep knowledge of the OEM landscape and proven experience with high-volume fleet acquisition makes him the ideal successor."

“We’re confident he’ll play a key role in shaping the next chapter of ZIGUP’s growth.”

IMI welcomes Nick Connor as new CEO

The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has appointed Nick Connor as chief executive officer. Connor will officially start in his new position on August 18, 2025.

Connor joins the IMI following previous high-level roles as global CEO of Polestar, head of the APEC region for Volvo Cars, and managing director at Volvo Cars in Australia and the UK.

Graeme Potts, chair of the board at the IMI, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Nick to the IMI. His energy, experience, and vision for the future of the organisation and the automotive sector are exactly what the organisation needs as we continue to champion the people who keep our sector moving forward.”

Connor added: “I am very excited and proud to be joining the IMI at such a critical point for the automotive industry and our members. I look forward to ensuring that our members’ interests are robustly represented and that we continue to grow the IMI’s influence and portfolio of services to meet the requirements of a fast-changing automotive landscape.”

Allianz Partners appoints two leadership roles

Insurance and assistance service provider, Allianz Partners, has announced two new leadership appointments, with Susan Poynor (pictured above) to take the position of global head of mobility and Ali Bashirinia (pictured below) to take the position of global head of roadside assistance.

Poynor began at Allianz Partners in 2019 as managing director of AVS Automotive and has run the brand’s mobility product management and innovation team since 2023. She also led the Opal Insurance Captive in Germany and founded the VCIS joint venture with Volvo Cars Germany.

Her new role will see her working to drive growth across the motor insurance business segment, cultivate greater collaboration across the brand, and develop new insurance offerings that focus on embedded insurance and connected car solutions.

Bashirinia (pictured above) joined Allianz Partners in 2011 and has extensive experience across the sales, consulting and transformation departments, and as head of business transformation and steering.

Taking on the position of global head of roadside assistance, Bashirinia will work to deliver faster and more proactive support to drivers by growing the roadside assistance business.

Fleet Assist announces new business development manager

Hayley Ingram has joined Fleet Assist as its business development manager, following eight years at Motability Operations.

Recently, Ingram (pictured above) worked as head of strategic partnerships and part of the senior leadership team at Motability Operations and spent more than 16 years at Vauxhall Motors in a variety of roles across fleet sales, aftersales and communication.

Ingram said: “I have built up many strong relationships withing the fleet industry through my roles at Motability and Vauxhall, and I look forward to putting them to effective use in helping Fleet Assist to continue to grow.”

Her new role will see Ingram working to develop fleet assist’s customer base, which currently extends across 51 companies and more than 1.3 million customer vehicles.

Fleet Assist’s business development director, Garry Winckley, commented: “Hayley is well known in the fleet sector, and with nearly 25 years’ experience, she brings with her vast knowledge and a large number of business relationships.”

“We look forward to Hayley helping build on the record customer and revenue growth the business has achieved in 2024 and 2025.”