New chairmen for BVRLA commercial vehicle and rental committees

Elliot Lennick becomes the new chairman of the BVRLA Commercial Vehicle Committee. Lennick is chief executive officer of MAN Financial Services, where he is responsible for Northern, Eastern and Western Europe. In 2000 he established MAN Financial Services in the UK, where it now manages around 10,000 vehicles. He joined MAN in 1999 having spent seven years at VIA where he was general manager of the company’s contract hire operations.

“I think 2011 looks promising for the commercial vehicle industry, said Lennick.

“I believe truck sales will rise by around 15% this year, partly due to the strong demand from the leasing and rental market.

“With uncertainty surrounding the economy and public spending cuts, companies will continue to choose the flexible, fixed cost access to road transport that our industry offers.”

Lennick said that expanding the BVRLA’s membership base in the CV sector would be a priority during his stint at the helm.

“I want the association to canvas the views of a wider selection of members and continue lobbying hard for a lower tax and regulatory burden on the road transport industry.

“We also need to make sure that more customers are aware of the benefits of dealing with a BVRLA-accredited leasing or rental company.”

The new chairman for the Rental Committee is Alison Chadwick, director of regional operations for Thrifty Car and Van Rental. Alison has experience of working for both large multi-nationals and smaller independent rental companies during her 20 years in the industry.

“One of the key priorities for the committee is to improve the reputation of the car rental industry and I hope to build on the great progress made here under my predecessor (David Alexander of Europcar).

“As part of this we need to raise the profile of car and van rental as a sustainable way of delivering mobility during these environmental and cost-conscious times.

At the same time, Chadwick said she wanted to work with as many other BVRLA member companies as possible to raise standards, develop more training opportunities and help the industry to attract a new generation of talented and motivated employees.

The two new chairmen will serve two-year terms and will also represent their industry sectors on the BVRLA’s Committee of Management, which is responsible for the strategic direction of the association.