Alstom UK & Ireland: On track for fleet success

Is fleet a vocation of choice? Nadim Mehar (left) certainly thinks so. The self-proclaimed car fanatic started his career as an 18-year-old working in the finance department at LeasePlan UK for the sole purpose of gaining a foothold in the car industry. Fleet presented that opportunity for the school leaver.

Every couple of years, Mehar switched roles to build up his skills and knowledge-set until LeasePlan was bought by a consortium headed by Volkswagen in 2004. The acquisition opened the door to his first fleet manager role, looking after the internal car scheme. 

“We went onto the Volkswagen scheme which meant going from a change of cars every three-to-four years to changing every three months,” Mehar says. 

“For someone with a passion for cars, it was the perfect opportunity to continue learning.”

He stayed until 2013, leaving to pursue new fleet management career opportunities at Signalling Solutions, a railway traffic light and switchgear manufacturer owned in a 50-50 joint venture by Alstom Transport and Balfour Beatty.

When Alstom bought out Balfour in 2015, the next door opened: Alstom had no fleet manager.

“So, I stepped into the role of fleet manager UK and Ireland,” Mehar says.