ARVAL UK’s commercial leadership team has been bolstered with the appointment of Elliott Woodhead as UK Retail Director, leading the fleet and leasing specialist’s retail sales team.

The appointment completes the Arval UK executive team, which also welcomed Mike Curtis as Corporate Sales Director in July 2023. Both Elliott and Mike return to the UK after time spent in senior international roles.

Joining Arval in 1994, Elliott has fulfilled a number of key roles across IT, product development and sales in the UK. Most recently he has held an international role as Group Remarketing Director in the company’s Paris head office, where he has been based for the last four years.

The UK retail team provides specialist support for key partners including brokers, dealers, white-label brands, direct customers, and non-automotive partnership channels.

Woodhead said: “Retail is a fundamental channel for our business, accounting for around 107,000 vehicles in the UK. The experienced team represents both a substantial investment and a highly promising opportunity for further growth, despite the current challenging market environment.

“I’m excited to head up a highly capable team who have enabled strong growth and progress to be made over recent years, including securing several sector specific awards. Starting a new chapter together, we will drive the increase and use of products such as Arval Re-Lease (our used vehicle offering), as well as the introduction and offer of Arval Ignition, our salary sacrifice arrangement via brokers and dealers within this business area. We are also working on some exciting new retail partnerships, which we will announce shortly.”

Mike Curtis leads the company’s commercial sales activities for customers running fleets of fifty or more vehicles. Joining Arval UK in 2003, he has held various remarketing and commercial leadership positions before moving to international roles in 2014, initially as Managing Director of Arval India and then as Managing Director of Arval Denmark.

Returning to the UK in July 2023, he has spearheaded growth in the corporate segment.

Curtis (below) said, “The continuation of low company car tax for electric vehicles has contributed to an increased desire for businesses to enable their employees to choose a company car, whether that be via the traditional model or through our salary sacrifice product, Arval Ignition.

“The corporate sales team have delivered exceptional service levels to both retain customers and attract new business wins; in turn, we have seen the corporate fleet increase by 9.4% in the last 12 months. As we venture into the world of new mobility solutions, including electric cargo-bikes, car-sharing and EV charging payment solutions, it’s likely business leasing will remain an innovative channel which will support long-term growth for Arval.”

In her fourth year as Arval UK Managing Director, Lakshmi Moorthy, added: “Both Elliott and Mike have enormous experience, both of the UK market from their extensive time here previously, and now bringing a valuable perspective of leasing across global markets. Their knowledge and capabilities will be of great value to us as we grow our business further, and I am delighted to be able to welcome them into our UK Executive team.

“I would also like to thank Mike for providing exceptional interim leadership support to our retail channel, in addition to his main role leading the corporate segment, prior to Elliott’s appointment.”