Gofor Finance has appointed Shona Smith to lead its marketing strategy, further expanding its work with fleets.

Shona Smith, head of marketing at Gofor Finance

Smith joins after 15 years at Tesco Bank. Prior to this, she spent 10 years at creative agencies, planning and delivering marketing campaigns.

Gofor Finance is a contract hire and fleet management specialist, providing a bespoke service to SMEs across the UK and focused on building partnership arrangements with clients, large or small.

Gofor Finance managing director Graham Lesslie said: “We are delighted to welcome Shona as we wanted a driven, ambitious and commercially minded marketing professional with a demonstrable track record of delivering sales growth. We wanted someone who could be truly influential in determining the direction of the business and instrumental in its growth in the years to come.”

Smith said her appointment was particularly spurred by a shared passion for corporate social responsibility, with the move to all-electric car fleets at the heart of Gofor’s growth plans.

She commented: “I feel there’s a call to industry at the moment to help demystify net zero messages and make the changing landscape of running costs more understandable. Fleet suppliers have an education role to play, a duty of care to help the clients we partner with navigate the move to electrification and the path to net zero together. We all have a part to play in keeping EV adoption moving.”

Smith received Highly Commended at the Global Women in Marketing Awards for Brand Marketing in December 2020 and was shortlisted for Inspirational Marketing Leader at the Marketing Society Scotland Star Awards 2021.

She also sits on the Board of Foundation Scotland, a charity that helps communities create positive change and deliver lasting impact. Over the past 25 years, it has distributed more than £100m.