Industry jobs: Latest appointments announced by Ford, Samsara, Radius, Revive, Wagonex and TfL

Role change for chair of Ford in Britain

Tim Slatter, who has been chair of Ford in Britain since January 2022, has a new global product development role as head of vehicle programmes for the Ford Blue combustion and hybrid vehicle business.

The group was previously led by Trevor Worthington who has retired.

Slatter will continue to steer UK operations until a successor is in place and his relocation to Ford world HQ in Dearborn, Michigan, is complete.

His successor as chair of Ford in Britain will be the subject of a later announcement.

In his new role, Slatter will be involved in strategy and cycle planning for Ford Blue, Ford Performance and Ford Motorsports. 

Slatter, a 25-year company veteran, will report to Jim Baumbick, Ford Blue’s vice president, product development operations and quality.

Slatter was previously vehicle line director for vans and buses in the Ford Pro commercial vehicle business at Dunton Campus, in Essex, and prior to that held a number of senior posts in Ford Motor Company China including executive director, product development, and vice president, product development, at Jiangling Motors Corporation, Ford’s joint venture in China, and various leadership roles in powertrain development and engineering.

Andy Lord confirmed as London’s Transport Commissioner

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Transport for London (TfL) have appointed Andy Lord as London’s permanent transport commissioner.

Lord joined TfL in November 2019 as managing director of London Underground and became chief operating officer for all of TfL's operations in 2022.

He took on the role of commissioner of TfL on an interim basis from October 25, 2022, following the departure of the former commissioner Andy Byford.

Since then, his focus has been on attracting customers to public transport, rebuilding TfL’s finances, advancing TfL’s work to decarbonise and improve London’s environment, and developing plans to further support TfL’s diverse staff and customers.

Before TfL, he spent nearly 30 years in the commercial aviation sector, including 26 years at British Airways that culminated as director of operations for just over seven years. Lord is also a non-executive director for the UK MoD's Defence Equipment and Support Agency.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I have seen first-hand Andy’s dedication to rebuilding TfL’s finances following the devastating impact of the pandemic and his commitment to delivering better services for Londoners and more sustainable travel across the capital, as well as promoting walking and cycling.

“I look forward to working with Andy as we continue building a safer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone – and a transport system that remains the envy of the world.”

Lord added: “In the months ahead, one of my key focuses will be on securing the long-term Government funding that we need to continue our vital work.

“With transport authorities across the UK now having long-term ‘London-style’ funding agreements in place, London is now ironically the outlier.”

Radius appoints new chief information officer

Radius has appointed Glenn Fishwick to the role of chief information officer (CIO).

Fishwick moves into this role from his previous position as CIO for Cox Automotive, where he sat on the European operating board for several years.

After starting his career as a software developer, he held various senior roles across automotive, telecoms, financial services and technology working with both the private and public sector.

Lee Everett, Radius chief operating officer, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Glenn to the team as CIO, taking responsibility for the IT strategy and development across Radius group.

“He brings with him a wealth of experience and will be a driving force behind us developing new products and solutions as well as maximising the potential of the facilities in the new technology hub we’re building at our new site in Crewe.”

Fishwick added: “The potential Radius holds is boundless and its continued focus on technology offers a fantastic opportunity to expand and lead the way in the industry.

“I’m joining at an incredibly exciting time and look forward to working with an exceptional team to continue to grow this successful business.”

Radius offers solutions in fuel cards, telecoms, telematics, insurance, vehicle leasing, electric vehicles and charging.

Samsara names Lara Caimi as president of worldwide field operations

Samsara has appointed Lara Caimi as president of worldwide field operations, reporting to Sanjit Biswas, CEO and co-founder.

Caimi is a recognized technology leader, with nearly 25 years of experience in the industry. 

She joins Samsara from ServiceNow, where she served as chief customer and partner officer, overseeing nearly 2,500 global employees across organisations including customer success, professional services, ecosystem training, customer experience and channel ecosystem.

Before that, she served as ServiceNow’s chief strategy officer and was a partner at Bain and Company, where she advised technology companies on various topics including growth and go-to-market strategy. 

Caimi joins Samsara as Andy McCall, chief revenue officer, announces his retirement after more than six years of service.

“I am very excited to welcome Lara to our executive team as we head into our next chapter of growth,” said Biswas.

“Samsara’s continued momentum reflects the large market opportunity ahead of us as we help digitize the world of physical operations.

“Lara’s proven leadership helping ServiceNow scale fourfold makes her the perfect fit to accelerate our business while providing a best-in-class experience for our customers.”

Caimi added: “I am excited to build upon Samsara’s success as we continue to scale to meet demand and deliver next-level value for an ever-expanding customer base.”

Revive strengthens senior leadership team

Ricky Taylor (pictured above) is joining the Revive board of directors in the role of franchise growth director.

He joins the board with 37 years of dealership experience, having been head of business for 23 years for several dealer groups, including Inchcape and Marshall.

He said: “I am delighted to be joining the board in such a progressive company. I enjoyed my time in the dealer sector but Revive struck me as a company with strong values and serious growth expectations.  

“The progress that Revive has made to date is impressive, probably more so in that the company continues to grow without shouting about what it has achieved.”

In addition to Taylor’s appointment to the board of directors, Revive is also bringing in Warren Brown (pictured below) as head of UK mobile.

Brown's automotive career spans more than 30 years, including managing the press garage for Aston Martin and more recently working as new business development manager at Continental, where he oversaw a team of 80 engineers.

He will now focus on the growth and development of the Revive UK mobile division, a centrally employed team of 40 technicians who carry out repairs nationwide in non-franchised parts of the country.

Brown said: “The potential for growth is massive, and I look forward to working with our UK technicians as we continue to grow towards £40 million network sales by 2028.”

Wagonex makes two senior appointments to its product team

Wagonex has added two new members to its product development team – Joel Livermore will serve as head of product, while Claude Compere will take on the role of lead software engineer.

Livermore has six years of experience in developing products for various sectors, such as consumer, financial, and real estate.

He is currently leading the development of Wagonex’s next generation car subscription platform.

Previously, he worked at Rolls-Royce, as a continuous improvement engineer where he undertook various improvement projects focusing on product quality, cost and delivery.

More recently, he worked for office design firm, Kitt, where he was responsible for the delivery of its product strategy.

He said: “Building on my previous experience launching innovative consumer products in the mobility space, and working with businesses through their journey from start-up to scale-up, I look forward to delivering the leading product in this industry through an ambitious product roadmap.”

Compere, meanwhile, is a graphic designer turned developer, with more than 13 years’ experience across the finance, fintech and higher education sectors, where he has specialised in software development. 

He said: “As the world gets more and more used to the subscription model it feels like a natural progression that the automotive sector moves in the same direction.

“That’s why it’s an exciting time to join Wagonex and taking the role of the first internal technical hire tasked with building and leading the development team, helping to deliver the infrastructure that will drive the subscription market.”

Toby Kernon, CEO and the founder of Wagonex added: “We continue to be one of the most ambitious and active car subscription services in the UK and beyond, and as part of this, it’s imperative that we have a product team that is continuously improving and enhancing our offering.

“The sector is fast-growing and we can’t afford to rest on our laurels if we want to build on our strong UK position, as well as play a leading role in this rapidly expanding market which is changing how the world drives and owns vehicles.”