Alphabet (GB) has announced the appointment of new chief operating officer, Uwe Hildinger, following the retirement of Nigel Fletcher.

Fletcher (pictured), who has over 40 years of experience within the automotive leasing industry, leaves the Alphabet business this month to enjoy retirement after serving as interim chief operating officer for almost 12 months.

Hildinger joins from Alphabet International where he was chief sales officer for the previous three years at the Munich-based company.

Alphabet (GB)’s chief executive officer Nick Brownrigg said: “Firstly, I’d like to express my sincere personal thanks to Nigel for the significant contribution he’s made to the Alphabet business in a relatively short time.

"We have been aware of Nigel’s intention to retire for a while and over the past several months we have conducted an extensive global search for this vitally-important role.

“We interviewed a number of extremely high-calibre candidates but Uwe’s vision, personal qualities and breadth of experience were unrivalled.

“His qualifications for this role are outstanding, having previously served as chief operating officer for Alphabet in Germany, as well as working for other leasing and fleet management operations in that market prior to joining Alphabet in 2008.

“Uwe joins us from Alphabet International where he has been a key part of the global leadership team and we’re extremely pleased to welcome him to the Alphabet family in the UK.”