Updated: Tusker CEO Paul Gilshan steps down

Paul Gilshan has stepped down as CEO of Tusker, with Kit Wisdom, who was chief operating officer, becoming MD of the business.

He moves from his role as CEO to join the board of Tusker as non-executive director.

Gilshan was chief operating officer at the salary sacrifice specialist before being promoted to CEO in April 2018, when he replaced David Hosking.

He said: “I am proud to leave the company in such a strong position as a market leader, fully set up to take advantage of the growing salary sacrifice market.

"This is an opportune moment for me to pass on the leadership reigns and to support the business in a different way as non-executive director.”

Wisdom (pictured below) joined Tusker as operations director in 2018 from Alphabet, where he was head of operational services.

He became chief operating officer at Tusker in February, last year.

Wisdom said: “My time at Tusker has allowed me to gain a deep understanding of the business, its strengths, customers and importantly, the talented team it employs.

"Driven by our purpose to help the UK drive a better car, I look forward to steering and leading Tusker’s next phase of growth in the coming years.”

Gilshan’s departure comes after Lloyds Banking Group bought the business for £300m almost a year ago. 

Lloyds is also the parent company of vehicle leasing giant Lex Autolease, but has committed to maintaining Tusker as a standalone business.

Nick Williams, CEO of Lloyds Banking Group Transport, said: “As we reach our first full year of Tusker being part of Lloyds Banking Group, it is brilliant to see how much we have achieved together in such a short amount of time.

"I am delighted and welcome Kit into his new role as Tusker’s managing director and wish Gilsh all the very best in his non-exec role.

"I look forward to the next phase of our journey and have no doubt Tusker will continue to lead the way in keeping Britain moving towards a more sustainable future.”

Tusker was ranked 12th in the latest FN50 survey, having grown the number of vehicles it funds by almost 50% over the past year.

In 2022, its risk fleet stood at 22,132 vehicles, but it had grown to 32,842 in FN50 2023.

Tusker had enjoyed a record-breaking start to the year in 2023, with 240 new accounts signed up between January and June. 

The salary sacrifice specialist delivered more than 8,500 new vehicles in the six-month period – 6,900 of which were electric.