The Garage 360

NEWS
GSF ASSEMBLES ALL-STAR LEADERSHIP
TEAM TO ACCELERATE GROWTH
GSF Car Parts, the fastest-growing motor factor in the country, has assembled
a new leadership team comprising the best current and emerging talent in the
aftermarket as part of its plans to significantly grow the business and directly
challenge the dominant players in the market.
The news follows the announcement
that the business will add 20 new
branches to its 180-strong network
over the coming 12 months, with up to 20
further locations to follow from 2025. The
business was acquired by private equity
firm Epiris and the Ahluwalia family office
in November 2023, with Steve Horne
appointed as CEO and Sukhpal Ahluwalia as
Executive Chair.
The company has now completed a
period of aggressive talent acquisition to
establish its new leadership team tasked
with supercharging its business.
Martin Gray is Chief Talent Officer
He is a highly experienced recruiter who
was instrumental in the rapid growth of
Phones4u and Euro Car Parts. His focus at
GSF is strengthening and accelerating the
company’s recruitment as it embarks on a
period of significant and sustained network
growth and investment.
Alistair Preston is Chief Customer
Officer
He co-founded, scaled and exited the
UK’s largest online marketplace for car
repairs, WhoCanFixMyCar.com. Alistair’s
role focuses on developing and maintaining
best-in-class customer relationships and
helping enhance GSF’s market position
as it embarks on a new period of growth
and investment. Before moving into the
automotive sector Alistair spent 10 years
in Financial Services working for Lehman
Brothers, and then Nomura.
Paul Wright is Sales and Operations
Director
He has worked his way from the
aftermarket shop floor to the boardroom
over two highly successful decades in the
industry. Paul has an unrivalled knowledge
of branch best-practice and is hugely
connected with customers across the
independent market. Most recently he
occupied a strategic B2B role at Euro Car
Parts and is now focused on supercharging
the GSF branch network and operations
in order to give our teams the tools,
knowledge and resources they need to
better service more customers than ever.
Lee Forty is National Accounts and
Garage Equipment Director
He occupied key leadership positions in
workshop solutions, garage concepts and
commercial directorship at both Euro Car
Parts and Integrated Supply Network. His
focus will be key account development and
acquisition, as well as the growth of GSF’s
workshop-focused garage equipment arm.
Chris Barella is Digital Director
His expertise in website optimisation,
design and marketing is second-to-none in
the automotive aftermarket, having spent
21 years at Euro Car Parts growing their
ecommerce from zero to £250m. His focus
will be helping to refine our customers’
digital journey and accelerate online sales
growth.
David Bevan is Corporate Affairs
Director
David successfully ran an independent
motor factor chain in the West Midlands
before occupying director-level roles
across Marketing, Sales and National
Accounts at Partco and Unipart Automotive,
as well as Director of Strategy at Euro Car
Parts during its high-growth years. David
is a passionate believer in the industry and
helped create UK AFCAAR, the lobbying
body recognised by UK Government as the
principal advocate for the independent
aftermarket that successfully negotiated
the renewal of Block Exemption legislation
on favourable terms.
“We can only achieve this by offering the
best customer experience in the industry
and that’s exactly what we’re committed
to doing. I know the aftermarket inside out
and the plans we have to invest, scale and
develop the service we offer to customers
are going to make GSF the partner of
choice for garages, suppliers and the
public.”
They all join GSF’s existing leadership
team of Chief Financial Officer Sally
Dowling, Chief Commercial Officer Paula
Huesca de Crean, Chief Strategy Officer
Sukhbir Kapoor, HR Director Jo Warren,
IT Director Shaun Devey and Ecommerce
Director Farhan Hussain. Bill Stimson and
Adam White also join the team as Head of
Chairman’s Office and Head of CEO’s office
respectively.
Sukhpal Ahluwalia, Executive Chairman
at GSF Car Parts, said: “I am delighted to
be working alongside such an extraordinary
leadership team. We have some of the
aftermarket’s biggest juggernauts, all of
whom have a proven track record for
success, innovation and rapid growth,
which are three objectives firmly on the
agenda for GSF.
“Our leadership team have hit the ground
running, and I am confident that together
this team will lead our people across the
UK and Ireland to unprecedented levels of
success.
“We can only achieve this by offering the
best customer experience in the industry
and that’s exactly what we’re committed
to doing. I know the aftermarket inside out
and the plans we have to invest, scale and
develop the service we offer to customers
are going to make GSF the partner of
choice for garages, suppliers and the
public.”
16 THE GARAGE
16,17, News GSF Duckhams.indd 1 29/02/2024 14:01