Paul Fleming joins board at the Leasedrive Group. Appointed Sales and Marketing Director

6/30/2011 11:19 AM EST

Paul Fleming - Sales and Marketing Director - Leasedrive Group

The Leasedrive Group, the UK’s largest independent privately-owned vehicle management group, has appointed Paul Fleming to its board and the newly created position of sales and marketing director. His appointment is effective from 1 July 2011.

Managing director, David Bird, said: “Attracting someone of Paul’s calibre to this important new position within the group is another real coup. We have been searching for the best possible candidate and in Paul have found someone of exceptional industry experience and talent. He is a true automotive industry heavyweight and strengthens still further our senior management team at this particularly exciting time in the group’s history following the successful integration of the Masterlease UK contract hire business.

“Paul will complement the strengths of our dynamic executive board comprising myself, commercial director Roddy Graham and financial director, Robert Whitrow and assist us in taking the group onto the next stage in its rewarding journey.

“He is an energetic senior executive who has successfully led recognised brands in the automotive, industrial, consumer goods and service sectors and will add considerable value to our ambitious group.”

Paul Fleming has held senior board level positions for the past fifteen years. In his last corporate position he was chief executive officer of Alternatech Fuel Systems and before that, between 2004 and 2007, was managing director Europe for Britax Childcare, based in the UK and Germany. For four years earlier, he was with the Volkswagen group, firstly as chief executive for Europcar UK and then president of Volkswagen Brazil.

Between 1997 and 2000 Paul worked for Delphi Automotive Systems, the world’s largest automotive component supplier, firstly as country director in the UK and then sales, marketing and planning director in Germany. For seven years prior to that he held a number of positions with Breed Technologies Inc from UK operations manager to vice president, European sales and marketing.

An undergraduate trainee with Rover Cars he gained a BSc (Hons) in mechanical engineering at the University of Salford and became a chartered engineer (CEng) at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) in 1985. His past engineering positions include principal body engineer at BL Technologies, principal engineer at Jaguar Cars and engineering group leader at TRW Repa GmbH in Germany. He speaks fluent German.

A Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) in the UK, Paul is married with three children.