Winners 2026

Marketing 2026

Sarah Cox-Thornley was promoted to this senior role in 2020 and oversees product, events and communications for the Volkswagen brand, which sold almost 179,000 vehicles in 2025 and is now consistently the UK’s number-one seller. Digital innovations launched during Cox-Thornley’s tenure include YourWagen, celebrating customers’ personal experiences, and the Volkswagen Live Tour, offering potential customers a digital tour of their chosen car, guided by a product expert. Before taking up her current role, Cox was head of marketing for Volkswagen Commercials, which she moved to in 2016 from Audi. She joined the industry through a BMW graduate scheme in 1999, before switching to Audi in 2004 as area sales manager.

Marketing 2026 nominees

Tracy Woods, Lookers

Tracy Woods joined Lookers as chief marketing officer in January 2026, tasked with overseeing the dealer group’s strategy for brand, marketing, customer contact and digital. Woods’ strong background in marketing includes spells working with Carwow and car maker-backed used car marketplace Heycar, where she rose to the position of chief marketing officer. Following a year overseeing marketing at Superbet and car insurance provider Marshmallow, Woods returned to the car selling business with Lookers, which has 150 dealerships representing 38 brands.

Emma Johnson, Toyota GB

Emma Johnson was promoted to her current role in 2025, returning to Toyota GB after three years on assignment as senior manager of digital strategy at Toyota Motor Europe. Johnson began her career with Toyota GB in 2005 on a student placement in the company’s IT section during the final two years of a bachelor of arts degree. After graduating, she returned to the company in project management roles before moving to product marketing for Lexus and then Toyota. Management positions in aftersales/value chain followed from 2012 before she became a senior manager and founding member of the company’s customer experience and innovation team. Promotion to general manager of marketing communications came in 2022.

Liz Cope, Vertu Motors

Liz Cope is in charge of the marketing efforts of the 189-site dealer group, the fourth-largest in the UK. Her responsibilities include overseeing advertising, events, company websites and the operation of its call centres. She also has oversight of the social media strategy, which has won industry awards. Cope joined the company in her current position in 2016 from the Hong-Kong-based owner of Hoover, Techtronic Industries, where she was vice-president of global markets. Before that, she worked for vacuum company Vax and spent three years at Dyson. She also helped establish beer brand Peroni in the UK.

Mandy Dean, Ford Pro Europe

Prior to her promotion in 2025 to this senior Europe role within Ford’s commercial vehicles division, Mandy Dean was head of sales and marketing for Ford commercial vehicles in the UK. She secured that position after being promoted in 2020 from the role of marketing director for Ford in the UK. In her new UK-based post, Dean’s job is to help keep Ford’s number-one position in light commercial vehicles across the region, while persuading buyers to switch to electric in enough numbers to satisfy regulators. Dean joined Ford in 1995, working in purchasing and logistics before moving to commercial vehicles and then holding key sales and marketing roles as she climbed the ladder.

Kirsten Stagg, Skoda UK

Kirsten Stagg has undertaken her current role since 2016 and reports directly to the head of the Skoda brand. Previously, she had spent two years working as head of marketing for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Recent work overseen by Stagg includes advertising designed for dogs that includes translations so their humans can understand what they’re trying to say, with tie-ins to the Crufts dog show. Under Stagg, Skoda also has a strong focus on targeting female customers – for example, sponsoring the Chelsea women’s football team and launching the Complete the Streets campaign to encourage female cyclists. Stagg joined the Volkswagen Group as a graduate trainee in 1998 and has worked for Audi and the Volkswagen passenger car brand, where she rose to national communications manager.

Julia Greenhough, TrustFord

Julia Greenhough has overseen marketing at dealer group TrustFord since 2011. The job is substantial given that TrustFord is the world’s largest Ford dealer group, operating from 65 locations in the UK. The group is also one of the world’s oldest and celebrated its centenary in 2023. Greenhough joined TrustFord from Argos, where she worked as display development controller, a job she moved to from head of buying and marketing at the Steinhoff UK Home Furnishings division. In a recent post on LinkedIn, Greenhough said she was chosen because of her retailer background: “I was persuaded to step forward and make one of the biggest changes in my career.”

Andrea Bermudez, McLaren Automotive

Andrea Bermudez secured this key role within the sports car company in 2025 after moving from her position as global marketing director, the culmination of 12 years working her way up through McLaren’s commercial division. She joined the company in 2014 as global commercial manager after managing business development for Volkswagen in Argentina and leading corporate communications and PR for BMW in Central and South America. She joined BMW in 1999 on a graduate programme in the UK, before moving briefly into aerodynamics.

Fiona Mackay, Nissan

Fiona Mackay joined Nissan at the helm of its marketing division in 2024 after moving from Auto Trader, where she spent three years as director of automotive finance. For two years before that she was marketing director at Nissan’s finance partner, the Renault-owned RCI Bank, where she led a team of 47. Mackay’s early automotive experience was gained at Toyota, which she joined in 2011 as marketing manager before leaving in 2016 as general manager for marketing and digital strategy for Toyota and Lexus financial services.

Marie-France van Heel, Be.EV

Marie-France van Heel joined this fast-growing public charger company in 2023 as chief marketing officer, before moving to her current role as chief customer officer in 2024, also becoming a board member in the same year. Gaining popularity for its ‘big green hubs’, Be.EV was rated second by Zapmap’s 2025 survey of users among medium-sized networks. Van Heel previously worked for brand consultancies, most recently at Heavenly as chief strategy officer.

Louise French, Volvo Car UK

Louise French became marketing director for Volvo in the UK in February 2026, having been promoted from her role as head of marketing for Europe and Asia Pacific, which she keeps. She joins the UK executive team, led by Autocar Great Women awards finalist Nicole Melillo Shaw, and oversees the direct-to-consumer marketing strategy. French joined Volvo in 2024 after moving from the Lego Group, where she spent 10 years in mainly UK-based roles and rose to the position of senior digital director for western Europe. Before that, she worked for games maker Electronic Arts.

Kim Costello, Pinewood.AI

Kim Costello oversees marketing for the retailer-focused software company that was spun out of the Pendragon Group in 2024. Pinewood.AI positions itself as a global leader in automotive intelligence and operates in 36 countries, with its HQ in Birmingham. Costello previously led marketing for Pendragon from 2020 after moving from US car retail giant AutoNation following an overhaul of the company, adding chief customer officer to her title in 2023. In her role, Costello was instrumental in repositioning the Car Store used car business. She moved into car retail in 2013 after a spell working for the Miami Dolphins American football team.