The Garage 289

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Key appointment strengthens Scania’s municipal
and specialist vehicles sales expertise
Scania (Great Britain)
Limited has
strengthened its
fleet sales team with
the appointment of
Simon Gray to the position of
National Fleet Manager – Municipal
and Specialist Sales.
Prior to joining Scania, Simon
worked for John Lewis
Partnership, spending 11
years in Engineering and five
years as Head of Fleet Engineering
with the award-winning
transport team which
pioneered the large-scale
use of dedicated gas-fuelled
trucks in the UK.
“Simon’s appointment
brings a wealth of experience
to our team,” says
Kevin Lanksford, Scania’s
National Fleet and Specialist
Sales Director. “Sustainable
transport operation is a
particular focus area for our
municipal customers, and
Garage management specialist appoints
‘New Business Development Manager’
Simon’s knowledge of operating
quiet, clean vehicles on
a renewable fuel source is
virtually unparalleled within
our industry. Scania offers
the widest range of alternative
fuels on the market
today, and the specialist vehicle
aspect of Simon’s role
Garage TechMan, the garage
management specialist,
has appointed Gavin Sparks
to the newly-created role of
New Business Development
Manager to help further develop
the company’s profile
within the automotive aftermarket.
Gavin joins the company after
spending 16 years as Senior
Sales Manager with MAM
Software, but was drawn to
the opportunities presented
by both the speed of development
and the sophisticated
functionality at TechMan.
The pace of progress taking
place within the company
means that TechMan is constantly
bolstering its offering
with new, innovative solutions
which help to streamline
overall efficiency in workshops
all over the UK.
Leo Freebairn, National
Sales Manager at TechMan
commented: “Gavin is a high
profile appointment for us,
with a great industry reputation.
“He’s armed with all the
tools needed to help the business
develop existing relationships
with the UK’s major
garage networks, national
chains and parts suppliers
in order to further establish
TechMan in the marketplace.”
Gavin’s extensive industry
experience means that he is
well-placed to oversee Tech-
Man’s commercial development.
He joins at an exciting
time for the business, as
the reputation of the system
amongst leading independent
garages and the number of
customers continues to grow
rapidly.
TechMan is supported by an
established full-time team of
UK-based developers. There’s
also in-house training and
customer support capability
from staff with first-hand independent
garage experience.
will involve the introduction
of power sources such as hybrid
and plug-in hybrid into
municipal applications.
“As such, his appointment
represents a key step in our
work to drive the shift to
more sustainable transport
solutions. On behalf of the
entire Scania team, I wish
Simon every success in his
career with us.”
Simon Gray’s entire working
life has been spent in
transport. Prior to John
Lewis Partnership, he spent
ten years working for Royal
Mail on the service side of
its business. “I started my
career in transport with
Royal Mail and feel privileged
to have been part of a
major change programme
at John Lewis Partnership,”
comments Simon. “I now
look forward to sharing the
knowledge I have gained over
the years with Scania’s customers.
The sustainability
challenges our industry faces
today are hugely significant
and I very much look forward
to helping introduce Scania’s
innovative and proven technologies
into the municipal
marketplace.”
Dr. Stephan Wöllenstein, appointed
to the Board of Management of the
Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand
Dr. Stephan Wöllenstein
(55) holds a doctorate
in business administration
and has been with
the Group for 23 years.
He joined the Volkswagen
brand in 1995, holding
various management posts
in Sales and Marketing. He
became Deputy Executive
Director of SAIC Volkswagen
in Shanghai in 2004,
and held responsibility
for the Group’s Product
Line Small at Volkswagen
in Wolfsburg from 2007.
He moved to FAW-VW in
Changchun in 2012 as Executive
Vice President and
Managing Director of the
Volkswagen brand. As CEO
of the Volkswagen brand in
Beijing, he has managed
business in China since
2016.
Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO
of the Volkswagen Group,
said: “Dr. Stephan Wöllenstein
has many years
of experience in China and
successfully developed the
Volkswagen brand’s business
in China in his former
function. Going forward, he
will play a key role in representing
the interests of our
company’s most important
single market on the Volkswagen
brand Board of
Management in his capacity
as CEO of Volkswagen
Group China.”
In addition to his responsibilities
as a member
of the brand Board of
Management and CEO of
the brand in China, Wöllenstein
also took charge
of the Volkswagen Group’s
operating business in China
as CEO of Volkswagen
(China)
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