Prohire expands operations team to target growth

Prohire has made four new appointments to its operations team, along with one promotion, as part of its ambitious growth strategy.

The company, which provides commercial vehicle hire and fleet management solutions, has recruited Ashley Bourne as depot operations manager in Tunbridge Wells to further expand operations in London and the south.

Joining from Redde Northgate where he was branch manager for five years, Bourne will have 50 valued accounts to manage as well as run the day-to-day operations of the depot which involves the full rental process from on to off hire.

Kane Bowden, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the commercial vehicle hire sector, most recently at Enterprise, joins Prohire as national account development manager responsible for the growth and share of key customers including Bunzl, Vow, Speedy, Greencore and Unipart.

Hannah Ridgway has been promoted to operations manager for the fleet compliance and administration department, the latest in a series of promotions for Ridgway who joined Prohire nine years ago in a temporary administration role.

As well as providing direction and support to the team, Ridgway’s new role will enable her to focus on process development in areas of emerging technologies such as AI.

Joining her as operations manager for technical services is Wayne Pheasey, previously regional fleet maintenance manager (Northwest) at Ryder.

His new role will see him driving day-day activities and strategies, while building key customer relationships and contacts. He will support his leadership team to enhance the delivery of front-line technical customer service in line with best-in-class standards.

The new technical services team leader at Prohire is Jason Downes. He will be responsible for a 10-person team which manages the day-to-day defect and breakdown management, vehicle off road uptime, cost control and authorisation and customer service.

He joins Prohire from TIP trailer services where he was a customer service specialist managing damage and maintenance repairs on 3,500 Amazon trailers.

Gary Banister, group operations director at Prohire, said: “I’m delighted to welcome these talented and experienced individuals to the team, and to congratulate Hannah on her promotion. These roles have been created as part of our ambitious growth strategy which will see further recruitment in the coming months.

“Our business success is built on customer relationships and, as part of our operations team, Kane, Ashley, Hannah, Wayne and Jason are united in providing world-class customer service and building excellent relationships with our valued clients across a wide range of business sectors.”

Established in 1997, Prohire supplies nationwide commercial vehicle contract hire and fleet management solutions to organisations in the foodservice, catering, chilled food, pharmaceuticals, building products, leisure retail and brewing, office supplies and waste management sectors, as well as specialist logistics companies and own account operators.

Einride names former Tesla marketing lead as new chief marketing officer  

Einride has announced Corinne Aaron as its new chief marketing officer, replacing Linnéa Kornehed Falck, who has held the role since co-founding Einride in 2016.

She is set to embark on a new phase of focusing on her roles as deputy CEO and executive member of the board. 

“It has been a rewarding journey building Einride into a globally recognized brand from where we started in 2016 and I’m so proud of what our incredibly talented team has built,” said Kornehed Falck.

“What began as an idea has become a brand that is trailblazing an entire industry and I look forward to now contributing to Einride’s growth and success in new ways.

“With Corinne’s experience in the EV sector and clear track record in building brands to support fast scaling companies, I can’t think of a better successor to guide the Einride brand forward.”

Aaron brings nearly two decades of global marketing experience, with over ten years in leadership positions, to her new role at Einride.

Most recently, she served as the chief marketing officer at the mobility solutions brand Lynk and Co, and prior to that, served as the head of marketing, EMEA at Tesla for six years.

At Tesla, she led a team through vigorous growth including expanding into six new markets, launching four marque products and supporting the scaling of Tesla infrastructure including the openings of gigafactories and the scaling of the supercharging network to over 500 locations throughout Europe.

Additional experience includes time with the Adidas Group, supporting marketing efforts for the Reebok brand, launching the US subscription brand Lovevery in Europe and spearheading leisure marketing for Hyatt Hotels in Chicago. 

“This move enables me to combine my passion for innovation in clean tech with my experience in scaling brands within the EV and automobile industries,” said Aaron.

“The work being done by Einride plays such a critical role in creating a greener, more intelligent future and I look forward to seeing the impact our team has on the freight industry and society at large.”

MV Commercial names Anwaar Khan as general manager of its Luton depot

Commercial vehicle specialist MV Commercial has appointed Anwaar Khan as general manager of its Luton depot, under plans to grow the company’s UK footprint.

Khan, 33, moves into the role after four-and-a-half years as senior operations manager at Northgate Vehicle Hire.

He will lead a team of 17 at the Luton site, which due to its proximity to London is a strategically important location for MV Commercial’s operations in England.

With a major refurbishment and expansion of the Luton branch underway, MV Commercial has tasked Khan with growing the rental and contract services sides of the business, where the firm’s 400-strong Ready to Go fleet includes its popular tipper grabs and tractor units, as well as beavertails, rigids, curtainsiders, dropside trailers and vans.

“I’m excited to join MV Commercial during a period of significant growth for the company, with investment in the fleet and services offered from our Luton site being critical for the business,” he said.

“We are increasing our Ready to Go stock to meet a huge uplift in demand from our customers in London, particularly for high-spec DVS-compliant vehicles and trailers, designed for a wide range of industries and applications.

“Further improving our high levels of customer service and after-sales support is also a priority to ensure we can attract new business. And of course we are very focused on growing and strengthening relationships with our loyal and long-standing customers.”

The Airdrie-based firm operates other sites south of the border in Grantham, Haydock and Oxford, and also runs a van centre in Livingston.

Khan will report to MV Commercial’s managing director Steven Cairns.

Gofor appoints a new SME-focused business development manager

Gofor has appointed Joanna Williamson as its business development manager with a focus on expanding its small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) client base.

Williamson joins from a senior sales consultant position with Concept Group, a provider of printing hardware, software and print managed services.

She will focus primarily on developing new business relationships with prospective Gofor clients. 

She will be responsible for working with these companies to understand their fleet challenges, introducing them to Gofor’s solutions to meet these challenges, including access to Gofor’s multi-funder model, proactive, relationship focused account management and its innovative driver and fleet technology.‍

She said: “I’m excited to be joining the fleet sector at a time where there’s lots of positivity around business contract hire and electric vehicle transition. As a result, there’s lots happening at Gofor – I can’t wait to start meeting our customers and supporting their fleet ambitions.”

Graham Lesslie, Gofor’s managing director added: “I’m delighted Joanna’s chosen to join Gofor. Having someone of her SME sales experience, who understands how to solve challenges and add value to SME businesses, will be a massive help to both our prospective clients and business development colleagues within the business.”

Williamson’s appointment will be followed by another three business development executives in the coming weeks. 

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