Speakers
David Gregory, China Market Business Advisor, CBBC
David Gregory is a China Market Business Adviser, for CBBC, focusing on Advanced Manufacturing and Transport. Before returning to the UK in 2015 he spent almost 17 years based in China and South East Asia. For the majority of that time he worked as a senior executive in large, multi-national companies, in the building material sector. Drawing from his experience, he aims to deliver clear and practical advice to clients wishing to engage with China.
Steve Scofield FIMI, Head of Business Development, Institute of the Motor Industry
Steve joined the IMI in 2003 having been in the automotive franchised and independent sectors from an early age and latterly, on becoming passionate about people development, the automotive education sector.
Steve’s overall mission is to provide the opportunities for professionals working in the automotive industry to grow and excel in their careers by gaining access to development and recognition which is globally recognised.
Experience in the automotive education vertical includes leading departments and business arms within vocational training, qualification and standards development, awarding operations, sector skills council policy and research and automotive voluntary licence to practice arenas.
In his present role on the IMI senior management team he is responsible for business development and partnership activities across 24 automotive subsectors, supporting IMI in its quest to provide professionalism and career growth opportunities both in the UK and the 39 international markets in which it operates.
He believes that collaboration and strategic partnerships are a key route to success and given the seismic shift the automotive sector faces, is looking forward to some exciting and interesting times in the years ahead.
Jason Cranswick, COO, Marubeni Auto Investment (UK) Ltd
Jason Cranswick has an almost unique profile, having held automotive leadership roles in Dealer Groups, Disruptor and OEM. Starting his career in car sales in 1989, he has progressed through to Dealer Managing Director, Head of Network Development for Audi UK, Retail Director of Cinch, and now COO of Marubeni Auto Investment (UK) Ltd. In January 2023 Marubeni Auto Investment acquired HPL Motors which is a large scale used car supermarket business, to sit alongside their existing franchised dealer businesses of RRG Group in Greater Manchester and Norton Way Group in the London area, now covering 40 locations and approaching £1bn annual turnover.
Jason’s career has spanned experience with many mainstream and premium brands, whilst also covering disciplines such as retail, wholesale, consumer finance, digital transformation, business M&A and ideal network planning
Owen Edwards, Head of Downstream Automotive Consulting, Grant Thornton
I am part of the automotive advisory mergers and acquisitions team at Grant Thornton. I have a large range of experience in: Automotive distribution and retail, global composite, dashboard and KPI analysis, company and financial analysis, and strategic five-year planning.
Prior to joining the firm in 2015, I advised on the IPO of Marshall Motor Holdings Plc and worked for seven years at Inchcape Plc, the world’s largest independent motor retailer and distributor. For four years, I was the Director of Business Development, undertaking acquisitions and focusing on the strategic positioning of the business across the globe.
Prior to becoming the Director of Business Development at Inchcape Plc. I was Group Strategy Manager, my projects included introducing new brands into emerging markets, restructuring a number of the groups overseas underperforming operations, and compiling the group’s five-year strategy plan.
My interest in automotive is both at work and home, I own three classic British sports cars, a TVR 3000M (Martin 3), Lotus Esprit Turbo and I have recently purchased a Marcos Mantaray.
Andy Turbefield, Head of Quality at Halfords Autocentres
Having spent 5 Years developing and delivering the strategy for Technical Training and Learning & Development, my focus now turns towards the Quality of Service of Autocentres. Since completing the Operations Process Review in 2015 our quality procedures are well embedded into the culture of Halfords Autocentres. Now is the time to review our quality process, particularly with new technology like hybrid and electric vehicles and the advent of our new bespoke garage management system. Equally customer expectation quite rightly continues to rise.
My role continues to support Autocentres with the awareness of the technical innovations that are gathering pace in our industry. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Electrified Drive-trains and Mobility as a Service are all areas that will keep Halfords Autocentres ahead of the curve in the Automotive Aftermarket.
