PHIL Wilbraham is the new head of Pendragon Vehicle Management, now part of the Lithia UK dealer group.
He takes over from Neal Francis who was Divisional Managing Director of the business for the past 18 years and before that ran Pendragon Contracts.
Appointed at the beginning of July, Phil Wilbraham became the new Group Vice President for Pendragon Vehicle Management and National Fleet Solutions having previously served as Group Finance Director for the former Jardine Motors Group business.
At Jardine, Wilbraham was responsible for Financial Control and Reporting, FP&A, Finance Transformation and Tax for Jardines (£1.7bn turnover). He was the UK Finance lead for mergers and acquisitions when the business became part of the wider international Lithia and Driveway business in 2023.
Phil, who originally trained as a chartered accountant, also brings with him four-years’ experience from LeasePlan, where he worked as both Head of FP&A and latterly Head of Finance
“I’m honoured to join Pendragon Vehicle Management. I’m looking forward to the opportunities that this new role will bring, as I look to build on the great foundations already in place at Pendragon Vehicle Management.”
Phil Wilbraham, Group Vice President, Pendragon Vehicle Management
Wilbraham, who will lead a team of over 50 employees and a fleet of 10,000 vehicles, plans to hit the ground running, by prioritising a collaborative working approach with the leasco’s partners.
“I am passionate about providing simple and convenient vehicle management solutions, to offer exceptional customer experiences with the customer at the heart of everything we do,” Wilbraham added.
Neil Williamson, Regional President of Lithia UK, said: “Phil Wilbraham has both the experience and fresh, positive outlook to bring to Pendragon – he is the ideal person to lead the business to its next stages of growth. I’m looking forward to working with Phil closely as we look to further establish our leasing operations across the UK.”