Senior appointments key to ATS Euromaster growth

ATS Euromaster has restructured its senior operations team, with the appointment of Peter Tye to the role of group operations director retail and Columba Zaal as group operations director comprehensive.

Tye, 42, brings 20 years of experience in the automotive industry to ATS Euromaster and joins the company after six years at Goodyear Dunlop, most recently as retail director.

His primary focus will be the 169 ATS Euromaster centres which support primarily retail traffic from car and light commercial customers.

Tye, a qualified accountant, started his career within the Volkswagen Group in 1992. He spent his early years in finance before being promoted to senior franchise and operational roles at both Audi and Seat.

In 2006, he entered the tyre industry with Goodyear Dunlop, where he was responsible for the development and growth of the HiQ franchise network from 20 to 150 sites. Most recently, as retail director, he ran the HiQ franchise network and the retail partner program.

Zaal, 49, joined ATS Euromaster in July 2009 after six years in senior management at RAC Windscreens.

He has spent the last three years as operations director retail, a position in which he played a key part in the launch of a number of new services across the network. This included the roll-out of scheduled maintenance servicing, fault diagnostics, air-con recharging, computerised wheel alignment and nitrogen tyre inflation.

As group operations director comprehensive, he will shift his focus to the company’s 199 comprehensive and dedicated truck centres. He will also be responsible for a fleet of nearly 1,000 mobile service vans.

Ian Stuart, group managing director of ATS Euromaster, said: “Peter and Columba take on these new roles following a two year period which has seen more than £14 million invested in our network and expanding SMR portfolio.

“Their combined expertise provides ATS Euromaster with a solid foundation on which to continue the next phase of our company’s growth.”

Both Tye and Zaal will report directly to Stuart. They replace Chris Hufflett, formerly group operations director, who has left ATS Euromaster to pursue opportunities outside the industry.