Meet our Keynote Speakers

Jason Cranswick

Marubeni (RRG & Norton Way)

Jason is a transformational leader with a wealth of experience in a variety of settings including digital innovation, matrix management, global corporate and consumer retail. Jason’s career to date has provided him with well-rounded commercial experience in franchised dealer networks, national sales company environment and e-commerce start up. His personal strengths are the ability to vision and architect new ways of working, a partnering approach with partners, suppliers, and disruptors, the tenacity to overcome inertia and challenges, a breadth of thinking beyond the status quo, the willingness to develop skills in others and a commitment to make a difference to commercial results. Jason has an extensive network of contacts and relationships across the automotive industry in the UK and overseas, having worked with colleagues on retail and OEM projects in Europe and South East Asia. The success of his previous roles demonstrates his ability to operate with a highly effective balance of strategic dexterity and operational excellence.

Simon Bisp

Head of Sales, BYD

Simon has 22 years’ experience in the automotive industry in OEM, exclusively with Peugeot, PSA and then Stellantis having joined as a Graduate in 2001. He joined BYD in May of this year, prior to which he was in a European role covering Italy and Belgium.

Previously, Simon spent 6 years as Peugeot UK Sales Director. Leading up to this he covered all areas of automotive: Parts, Network training, After sales and Sales field roles, Distribution and Logistics and Retail & Motability Commercial Programmes.

Richard Aucock

Editor, Auto Retail Network

Richard is editor of Auto Retail Agenda, Auto Retail Profit, and the Auto Retail Network New Entrants report. He has been a professional journalist since 1998, focusing on all aspects of the automotive industry. He is on the World Car Awards Steering Committee, is vice chair of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and is also director of content agency Motoring Research.

Kim Costello

Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Customer Office, Pendragon

Kim Costello is the Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Customer Officer at Pendragon PLC, the UK’s Leading Automotive Retailer.

Kim is responsible for leading the group’s marketing, internal and external communications teams and for the overarching customer experience at almost every stage.

Kim has over fifteen years of marketing experience, seven of which were spent at AutoNation, America’s largest automotive retailer. In addition to her role in marketing, Kim also spent considerable time in operations to gain a holistic understanding of the inner workings of automotive retail.

Prior to her career in the Automotive Industry, Kim spent five years in professional sports, including time at The Miami Dolphins of the National Football League acting in a chief of staff capacity to the CEO and Ownership.

During the last ten years Kim has forged numerous partnerships, collaborations, agreements, and sponsorships with organisations including Battersea Dogs and Cats home, the British Touring Car Championships, Collegiate Football, IndyCar, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Major League Baseball, and the National Football League.

In 2023 Kim was named Automotive News Europe Rising Star of the year for Automotive Retail, has been a guest and speaker for the Financial Times and Reuters on assorted topics including generative AI (Artificial Intelligence), economic headwinds in the motor trade and customer insight. Kim has also spoken at the 2023 Viva Tech conference in Paris, France and in Westminster (London, England) at the 2022 NFDA conference.

Ian Plummer

Commercial Director, Auto Trader

Ian joined Auto Trader in 2017, with over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. In his current role, he is responsible for leading Auto Trader’s relationships with automotive manufacturers, lenders as well as franchised retailers to ensure value and revenue for them in new and used car sales. Since joining Auto Trader, Ian has also been central to the growth of its new car business and also championing the environmental agenda within the company and externally; including providing insight on how we can increase electric vehicle adoption in the UK.

Prior to joining Auto Trader, Ian worked at Volkswagen where he was Director of Sales Operations in the UK. In this role, he was responsible for all UK Volkswagen passenger car sales as well as the franchise management and commercial programmes.

Ian also has a wealth of experience in commercial roles across the globe, including working in France for 10 years. He spent 16 years at Renault where, among other senior management roles, he was Managing Director of Renault Retail Group. Here, Ian was responsible for 25 Renault and Nissan dealerships. He also held various international marketing, after-sales and e-business roles at Renault’s headquarters in Paris.

Education:

Ian holds a BA (Hons) from Loughborough University in Economics, Politics and French, and an MBA from IMD-Theseus Institute in France.

Languages:

Ian is fluent in French and conversational in German.

Career to date:

2017: Joined Auto Trader

2013 – 2017: Head of Sales Operations, Volkswagen Group

2012 – 2013: Head of Retail Operations, Volkswagen Group

2010 – 2012: Director, Commercial Operations, Renault UK

2003 – 2010: Various Senior Management roles in Renault Retail Group

1996 – 2003: Marketing and e-Business roles in Renault Group

1993 – 1996: Marketing Manager, Lafarge

1992 – 1993: Export Area Sales Manager, Lafarge

Personal interests:
Away from work, Ian spends most of his free time with his Wife and teenage Son and Daughter. Ian is passionate about sport: playing and watching it. He used to play hockey internationally at school and university and now enjoys playing football and occasionally tennis and golf.

Ian is a huge food fan and enjoys eating out. Having grown up in the countryside, he enjoys outdoor life and is a big advocate of looking after the environment and finding more sustainable ways to live, including driving electric cars.

Neil Addley

Founder & Managing Director, JudgeService

Having served as marketing director at many of the industry’s leading dealer groups Neil established JudgeService in 2011. He has worked with the NFDA on a number of dealer-based initiatives and is well versed in digital marketing, customer experience and specifically new and used car retailing.

Guy Pigounakis

Commercial Director, MG Motor

Guy is a highly experienced automotive Sales and Marketing Director. He oversaw the growth from 28,000 sales in 2005 to 93,000 in 2016 at Hyundai Motor UK as Sales Director whilst also having responsibility for Dealer Development, new routes to market such as Rockar, alternative fuel vehicles, Logistics, and chairing Dealer Forums and Franchise Boards.

At HMUK and prior to that, he has twice managed the transition from consignment to wholesale funding for two OEM's Dealer networks and been at the forefront of the development of PCP and PCH products through their Retail Partners. Prior to HMUK, I was the Commercial Director for MG Rover Group in the UK, as well as being responsible for Global Franchising and Marketing. He was also responsible for Product Development (responsible for the re-launch of the MG Brand with the MGF as General Manager of MG Cars) and a number of field-based Sales roles, including that of Regional Director of a major OEM, and was the MD of a medium-sized Dealer Group.

Since December 2020, he has been the U.K. Commercial Director of MG Motor U.K., where he has worked with a team of like-minded people intent on returning MG to its rightful place in the Global Industry!

Dale Butcher

Strategy Advisor, Emil Frey

Dale is an Experienced Director with a demonstrated history of working in the automotive industry. With a retail background and decades of experience, Dale has held various positions in Finance, General Management, and Business Development.

He was also responsible for Mergers and Acquisitions, Group Property, and Manufacturer Relationships. He is skilled in Negotiation, Business Planning, Operations Management, Retail, and Pricing Strategy. Strong professional with a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Imperial College London.

John O’Hanlon

Chief Executive, Waylands

John O’Hanlon has worked in the Motor Retail Sector for over 30 years.

John is CEO of Waylands, the 10 site (5 Volvo, 2 Kia,2 MG and 1 Polestar) Retail Group based in the Thames Valley/M4 corridor. The Group was established in November 2017, in a temporary site in Reading and has grown via acquisitions of Volvo dealerships Newbury (oldest Volvo dealer in the country), Swindon and Oxford and Kia in Reading and Bicester, and the establishment of new site representation points in Bristol for Volvo and MG in Oxford and Newbury.

In March 2019, Waylands relocated its Reading Volvo business to a state of the art, £6m full Volvo “VRE” site.

In August 2019, the Oxford Volvo business was relocated to the biggest Volvo showroom in the country.

In February 2021, acquired the Kia franchise in Reading, and immediately launched a refurbishment programme prior to a full redevelopment in 2023.

In March 2021, the Group completed the comprehensive refurbishment of the Fawcetts business.

In August 2021, Waylands opened a new Volvo site in Bristol, expanding its reach further along the M4 corridor. And the Group opened its first MG business at its Cumnor Hill location in Oxford.

In April 2022, Waylands will begin the construction of a new £7m showroom for Volvo in Swindon which is expected to completed in February 2023.

In June 2022, Waylands acquired Bicester Kia, a second point for the franchise.

In August 2022, the Group opened its second MG showroom and Waylands “E” initiative in Newbury. Waylands E is an multi franchise used Electric specialist – allowing Waylands to build its reputation in all things electric and understand the market in greater detail.
John’s stated ambition was to grow Waylands to £100m turnover with a £2m balance sheet, within 3 years (its 2022 turnover is £168m and balance sheet of £6m).

The Group’s new ambition is to grow to a £250m turnover by 2025. John will deliver this through a relentless focus on detail, nurturing key relationships with stakeholders and a constant investment in Waylands culture and talent.

Waylands has most recently been recognised as Automotive Management’s Dealer Group of the Year (Up to Ten sites) for the third consecutive year.

John also advises the UK Top 20 motor retailer, John Clark Motor Group, in his role as a non- executive director.

John is a regular speaker at industry events including Automotive Managements @amchatter webcast, Auto Retail Network webinar Q2 2018 and Q3 2020, Motor Trade Radio’s podcast, Car Dealer podcast, Car Dealer Magazine’s CDX16, 18 and 19. John has also spoken at ICDP’s conferences in 2016 and 2019, and at the VRA’s AGM webcast.

John has been a member of Volvo’s Retailer Advisory Board and also serves as Chairman of the NFDA’s EV Group.

John was presented with Motor Trader’s Outstanding Achievement Award in December 2021.

Prior to Waylands, John was CEO of Ridgeway, the hugely successful Southern based Motor Group from 2007 until the sale to Marshall Motor Holdings in 2016. The sale for £106.9m, represented the biggest deal in the sector for over 10 years.

During his tenure as CEO, Ridgeway’s turnover grew from £291m to £722m in 2015 and PBT grew from £3.7m to £14.8m and he established the Group as an industry top performer on customer and staff satisfaction measures. Ridgeway won numerous awards during this time including Motor Dealer of the Year, Motor Trader Employer of the Year and BDO’s Most Admired Business in the Thames Valley.

Before becoming CEO, he worked for Ridgeway from 1998, as Financial Director and then Volkswagen Brand Director.

Prior to Ridgeway, John qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Grant Thornton, and became the firm’s first dedicated Motor Retail resource as Motor Retail Manager.

John lives in Oxfordshire with his wife and 3 children. His passion outside of his family is football and particularly, Celtic FC.

Callum Wood

Sales Director, CitNOW Group

Callum joined CitNOW in 2015 after graduating and has since risen through the ranks to his current role managing sales for several businesses across CitNOW Group for the UK, BNL, France, DACH and Iberia regions. In his first role as Product Expert, Callum visited hundreds of dealers and dealer groups around the country, demonstrating to them the power of CitNOW and gaining a deep understanding of the industry in the process.

Callum previously looked after multiple major accounts including Nissan, Renault and Aston Martin, before leading the UK New Business team, where he oversaw consistent growth in the market. He recently moved into his European-facing role, leading sales teams across several CitNOW Group products. With more than eight years of experience in the automotive industry, Callum is always exploring new ways to support CitNOW Group customers and aid the growth of the business.