Our leadership
Our diverse and committed leadership teams combine
wide-ranging digital experience with long tenures.
Board of
Directors
The Board takes overall responsibility
for the Group's strategy, performance,
governance, culture and values.
Chair
Chair
Matt joined Auto Trader as Chair Designate with effect from 1 July 2023, and has now assumed the role of company Chair.
Matt brings a wealth of UK retail, digital and brand experience. He is currently Chair at Greggs plc where he was appointed in August 2022, and Chair of privately owned businesses Hobbycraft and Travel Counsellors.
Matt was formerly the Chair of N Brown plc and a Non-Executive Director of Dunelm Group plc. In his executive career, Matt was previously the CEO of Tesco UK & ROI from 2015 to 2018, before which he held CEO positions at Pets at Home and Halfords. Matt is a qualified Chartered Accountant and had early career corporate finance experience with Rothschild.
APPOINTED TO THE BOARD
— July 2023
EXTERNAL APPOINTMENTS
— Greggs plc
— Hobbycraft Group Limited
— Travel Counsellors Limited
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS
— Nomination (Chair)
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive Officer
Nathan was first appointed to the Board as Chief Operating Officer (‘COO’) in April 2017 and as Chief Financial Officer (‘CFO’) in July 2017. Nathan was appointed Chief Executive Officer (‘CEO’) in March 2020, following the announcement of former CEO Trevor Mather’s retirement.
Nathan joined Auto Trader in 2007 to oversee the transition from a magazine business to a pure digital company. Prior to his appointment to the Board, Nathan was the joint Operations Director, sharing responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the business.
Prior to joining Auto Trader, Nathan was at Telstra, Australia’s leading telecommunications company, where he led Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Development for its media and internet businesses. He was previously a consultant at PwC, having graduated from the University of Sydney with a B.Com (Hons).
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Operating Officer
Catherine joined Auto Trader in August 2017 and was appointed as Chief Operating Officer (‘COO’) in May 2019. Catherine is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Auto Trader’s business. She is also focused on guiding the Group’s strategy and development.
Prior to this, Catherine was Chief Operating Officer at Addison Lee, Corporate Development Director at Trainline and a Director at Close Brothers Corporate Finance.
Catherine graduated from the University of Durham with a BA in Economics and is a qualified Chartered Accountant, training at PwC.
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Jamie was appointed Chief Financial Officer (‘CFO’)
in March 2020. Prior to this he was Auto Trader’s CFO-Designate and Deputy CFO. During his time at Auto Trader, Jamie has worked in a variety of different roles across finance, covering commercial finance, financial reporting, pricing and investor relations.
Jamie initially worked as a freight derivatives broker for inter-dealer broker GFI. Jamie left to join a start-up company, Swapit, developing a children’s online swapping and trading community, that was subsequently acquired by Superawesome. He then joined Auto Trader in 2012.
Jamie graduated from Bristol University with a BSc in Economics and Economic History and is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant.
Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
David was previously Group Finance Director of NEXT plc (1991 to 2015) and its Group Treasurer (1986 to 1991). He was a Non-Executive Director and Audit Chair of J Sainsbury plc (2015 to 2021), and most recently has taken up the role as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and Audit Chair of Moonpig Group plc. Previous management experience includes nine years in the UK and overseas operations of multinational food manufacturer Nabisco (1977 to 1986) and prior to that seven years in the accountancy profession.
David is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.
APPOINTED TO THE BOARD
— May 2015
EXTERNAL APPOINTMENTS
— Moonpig Group plc
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS
— Audit (Chair)
— Corporate Responsibility
— Nomination
— Remuneration
Independent Non-Executive Director
Independent Non-Executive Director
Jill is also Chair of Tracsis, a leading provider of software, hardware, data analytics/GIS and services for the transport industries; a Non-Executive Director of Ashtead Group plc, the FTSE100 international equipment rental company; a Non-Executive Director of UP Global Sourcing Holdings plc, a FTSE small cap consumer goods business; and is Chair of Headland Consultancy, a PR and Communications agency.
Jill brings strong digital experience within retail environments to the Board. Previously, Jill was a member of the Executive Committee at Tesco Plc where she held a variety of senior roles, and was the Chief Executive Officer of JP Boden & Co. She also spent time as a management consultant having started her career at Marks & Spencer.
Independent Non-Executive Director
Independent Non-Executive Director
Jasvinder is currently Managing Director of Motor & Rescue at Direct Line Group, leading motor insurance strategy and business delivery across household names such as Direct Line, Churchill and Privilege. She is a member of the Direct Line Group Executive Team and is also sponsor of the Group's Diversity & Inclusion strands. Prior to this, she held a number of roles within Direct Line including most recently Chief Strategy Officer and before that, Managing Director of Direct Line for Business.
Jasvinder is a champion of gender diversity and women in top positions in business. She has been named on Green Park’s BAME 100 Board Talent Index, on the Cranfield University Top 100 women to watch in 2018 list and also featured on the Northern Power Women list of ‘Top 50 Women to Watch’.
Independent Non-Executive Director
Independent Non-Executive Director
Jeni is currently Visa Inc’s SVP Global Head of Merchant Sales and Acquirers responsible for driving the growth of digital commerce for the world’s sellers. She joined Visa in 2018 as the Managing Director for UK and Ireland. Jeni was previously at Vodafone Plc (1998 to 2017). Most recently she held Group Director roles across product management and sales. Prior to that she was Chief Technology Officer on the UK and New Zealand Executive Boards.
Jeni started her career as a Telecommunications Engineer in New Zealand and holds an MSc in Electronic Engineering from Cardiff University.
Independent Non-Executive Director
Independent Non-Executive Director
Sigga is currently part of the UK executive team at Experian and is responsible for their UK Direct to Consumer Business. Sigga has worked in the financial services industry since 2001, pioneering digital transformation at both American Express and Santander UK. She was responsible for the development and launch of Asto, a Santander Fintech business, providing innovative cash flow solutions to small businesses.
Sigga holds a doctorate in Leadership and Innovation from Manchester Business School, an MBA from IESE Business School as well as a BS degree in Marketing from the University of South Carolina.
Company Secretary
Company Secretary
Claire is Company Secretary and Director of Governance. She is responsible for corporate governance; legal services; regulatory compliance; customer security; procurement; and risk management.
Claire was previously Deputy Company Secretary at Betfair Group plc and prior to that was Company Secretary at Centaur Media plc.
Claire is a qualified accountant, a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and holds an MBA from Manchester Business School.
Operational
Leadership
Team
Our OLT is responsible for driving a culture that is values-led, customer-centric and data driven — underpinned by a diverse and inclusive team.
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive Officer
Nathan was first appointed to the Board as Chief Operating Officer (‘COO’) in April 2017 and as Chief Financial Officer (‘CFO’) in July 2017. Nathan was appointed Chief Executive Officer (‘CEO’) in March 2020, following the announcement of former CEO Trevor Mather’s retirement.
Nathan joined Auto Trader in 2007 to oversee the transition from a magazine business to a pure digital company. Prior to his appointment to the Board, Nathan was the joint Operations Director, sharing responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the business.
Prior to joining Auto Trader, Nathan was at Telstra, Australia’s leading telecommunications company, where he led Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Development for its media and internet businesses. He was previously a consultant at PwC, having graduated from the University of Sydney with a B.Com (Hons).
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Operating Officer
Catherine joined Auto Trader in August 2017 and was appointed as Chief Operating Officer (‘COO’) in May 2019. Catherine is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Auto Trader’s business. She is also focused on guiding the Group’s strategy and development.
Prior to this, Catherine was Chief Operating Officer at Addison Lee, Corporate Development Director at Trainline and a Director at Close Brothers Corporate Finance.
Catherine graduated from the University of Durham with a BA in Economics and is a qualified Chartered Accountant, training at PwC.
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Jamie was appointed Chief Financial Officer (‘CFO’)
in March 2020. Prior to this he was Auto Trader’s CFO-Designate and Deputy CFO. During his time at Auto Trader, Jamie has worked in a variety of different roles across finance, covering commercial finance, financial reporting, pricing and investor relations.
Jamie initially worked as a freight derivatives broker for inter-dealer broker GFI. Jamie left to join a start-up company, Swapit, developing a children’s online swapping and trading community, that was subsequently acquired by Superawesome. He then joined Auto Trader in 2012.
Jamie graduated from Bristol University with a BSc in Economics and Economic History and is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant.
Commercial Director
Commercial Director
Ian joined the Company in 2017 and is responsible, in particular, for growing Auto Trader’s new car business. With 20 years of automotive experience with several brands, he is responsible for building meaningful relationships with all UK automotive manufacturers as well as their retailers to enable the development of solutions to drive new value and revenue to them, in both the new and used car space. Ian also oversees the Manufacturer and Agency part of Auto Trader, tasked with delivering commercial value and growth.
Previously Ian worked at Volkswagen, where he was Director of Sales Operations in the UK, responsible for all UK Volkswagen passenger car sales as well as the franchise management and commercial programmes.
Ian was also the former Managing Director of Renault Retail Group responsible for 25 Renault and Nissan dealerships, and prior to that held various international marketing, after-sales and e-business roles at Renault’s headquarters in Paris. Ian holds a BA (Hons) from Loughborough University in Economics, Politics and French, and an MBA from IMD-Theseus Institute in France.
Go To Market Director
Go To Market Director
Over the course of her 20 year Auto Trader career, Niki has worked in a variety of senior roles across sales, production, marketing and operations. This broad experience makes her exceptionally well placed in her role overseeing Auto Trader’s Go To Market function.
Niki is responsible for orchestrating multiple teams and business areas (including Product, Tech, Marketing, and Design) to ensure the successful delivery – from conception to deployment - of all new customer solutions, as well as the ongoing development of existing products. Within this role, Niki also oversees customer communications and interactions to ensure all new and existing services continue to address the genuine needs of Auto Trader’s retailer partners.
Niki holds a BA (Hons) in English and Linguistics from Leeds University.
Chief People & Operations Director
Chief People & Operations Director
Alison joined Auto Trader in 2002 and led the technology and operations teams responsible for business systems and the website infrastructure throughout the transition from print to online.
Working closely with Chris, Auto Trader’s Technology director, Alison co-leads the Platform and Operations teams who count among their responsibilities ensuring the reliability and scalability of the infrastructure and the provision of data, systems and operational support to b2b customers.
Alison also helps shape the progressive culture and environment at Auto Trader, ensuring the attraction, development and retention of a talented, engaged and diverse workforce is second to none in the industry. Alison serves as the chair of Manchester Digital, the independent trade association for the thriving digital sector in the North West of England.
Alison was named ‘Woman of the Year’ in 2017 at the Women in IT Awards and more recently, was awarded an MBE in the King’s 2023 Birthday Honours.
Chief Technology Officer
Chief Technology Officer
Chris is responsible for technology at Auto Trader and has worked for the Company for the past 20 years. A software engineer, Chris joined Auto Trader in 1998 as a developer in the small team working on the first Auto Trader website.
Chris has since been an integral part of the product and technology division throughout the successful transition from print to a fully digital business. He remains passionate about software and technology and leads a team of architects as well as product development and operational teams. Chris is responsible for setting the group technology strategy, and more recently has overseen the growth in Auto Trader’s data engineering and data science capabilities. Chris holds a degree in Genetics from Leeds University.
Data & Insight Director
Data & Insight Director
Richard looks after Data and Insight at Auto Trader, overseeing the Company’s Enterprise Data Warehouse and Real Time Data Capability, both of which are used to present performance data to customers through Auto Trader’s Dealer Portal.
He is also responsible for the analytics function that analyses data in order to share insights and recommendations that lead to improvements and opportunities for product and sales teams as well as our customers. Having been with the business for 20 years Richard has a range of experience, which includes roles in the UK overseeing the organisation’s research activity, and heading up the Market Intelligence function.
Following early involvement in the initial launch of Topmarques.co.uk and autotrader.co.uk he moved into the international division of GMG working in a small team that launched the digital operations for the non-UK automotive classified businesses in several European countries. Richard holds a BA (Hons) in Business Information Management from Leeds and an MBA from Manchester Business School.
Chief Product Officer
Chief Product Officer
Since joining Auto Trader in 2008, Karolina has held many senior roles across business areas including Data & Insight, Strategy, Product & Technology and Commercial.
Karolina is now responsible for leading core classifieds commercial product strategy at Auto Trader UK, focused on delivering commercial value for both Retailers as well as Manufacturers & Agencies whilst constantly optimising the consumer experience.
Karolina graduated from University of Wroclaw, Poland with an MA in Business Management.
Group Sales Director
Group Sales Director
Since joining Auto Trader in 2002, Rebecca has held many senior roles across most commercial areas of the business, especially sales, which has enabled her to develop outstanding relationships within the industry.
Rebecca is now jointly responsible for leading the sales and services teams in their pursuit of becoming trusted partners for our 13,000 independent, supermarket and franchise customers. Prior to joining Auto Trader, Rebecca worked for United Business Media and has an MA in Marketing Management from Manchester Business School.
Group Sales Director
Group Sales Director
Darren is responsible for Auto Trader's sales function leading the sales and service teams in their pursuit of becoming trusted partners for our 13,000 independent, supermarket and franchise customers.
With over eight years’ experience, Darren joined the Company in 2008 to consolidate the print business before supporting the business in its successful transition to a solely digital business. He works with manufacturers, independent dealers and franchise groups. Prior to joining Auto Trader, he worked in various publishing businesses.
Company Secretary and Director of Governance
Company Secretary and Director of Governance
Claire joined Auto Trader in July 2015 and is Company Secretary and Director of Governance. She is responsible for corporate governance; legal services; regulatory compliance; customer security; procurement; and risk management.
Claire was previously Deputy Company Secretary at Betfair Group plc and prior to that was Company Secretary at Centaur Media plc.
Claire is a qualified accountant, a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and holds an MBA from Manchester Business School.
Our culture & values
Building a diverse and inclusive culture where everybody can thrive and be at their best.
Read MoreCorporate governance
Setting out the key features of our governance framework and how it complies with 2018's UK Coporate Governance Code, published by the Financial Reporting Council.
Read More
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