Mel Dawson has been appointed managing director at Bristol-based ALD Automotive, the UK’s fifth-largest vehicle leasing and fleet management provider.
Mel, pictured, joined ALD in 1997 as commercial director and become sales director in 2005. Since then the company, which now employs more than 300 people, has significantly grown its core corporate business, including a number of pan-European fleet operations.
He will report into ALD International’s deputy chief executive officer Tim Albertsen, based in Paris. ALD is part of French banking giant Societe Generale.
Mel’s promotion follows a period of three years in which ALD’s fleet size has grown organically by more than 35,000 vehicles.
ALD International chief executive officer Mike Masterson said: “We were very keen to make an internal appointment, not just to recognise the success of what the current team had already achieved, but because we felt Mel and the rest of the board had the right level of skill and experience to maintain our growing presence in the fleet market.
“The expertise they have – in terms of the commercial, operational and financial aspects of the business – provides an ideal platform for ALD to be a leader in the UK contract hire industry.”
The senior management team of Mel, deputy managing director Nigel Fletcher, marketing director David Yates and finance director Tim Laver has more than 50 years’ boardroom experience.
ALD will launch a number of customer service initiatives this year, including new products and services which underline its commitment to being the industry’s benchmark service provider.
Besides his UK responsibilities Mel will also be part of the international G8 management team of ALD International, comprising the group’s largest operating subsidiaries and responsible for developing operational and commercial strategy across Europe.
