Patel joins from the Lloyds Banking Group where he had held a number of management positions since joining Lloyds in 1999. He later moved over to Lex Autolease, the bank’s vehicle financing division, in 2007 and in his last role he was responsible for strategy, eCommerce and product development. 

His new role at ALD follows significant fleet growth and a doubling in the number of returned vehicles over the last three years. The role will see him optimise end-of-contract vehicle sale performance and formulate new remarketing strategies to enhance the existing model and support the development of new disposal channels. He will also manage supplier relationships to ensure a progressive service provision is provided to meet core KPI and service excellence metrics. 

Simon said: “With a challenging used vehicle market and ALD’s exceptional growth the challenge is to continually innovate and utilise the most appropriate channels for the right vehicle at the right time to the right customer.” 

Mel Dawson, managing director of ALD Automotive, added: “With his wealth of experience in the fleet and financial services sectors, Simon will be a great addition to our team. As we continue to expand, his expertise will be crucial in ensuring we have the optimum remarketing policy, working with our partners to stay at the forefront of innovation and helping deliver exceptional service.”