Winners 2026

Sales - manufacturers 2026

Natalie Kennett was appointed sales and operations director for Vauxhall in 2024, the culmination of nearly 15 years of rising through the echelons of the UK brand, now owned by Stellantis. Kennett previously held the post of head of commercial programmes for just under two years before moving to her current senior post, where reports to the head of the brand. One of her early jobs for Vauxhall was retailer measurement specialist, which helped to maintain standards at dealers, including providing support for the mystery shop programme. Kennett holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the Manchester Metropolitan University and in 2021 gained an MBA at Aston Business School.

Sales - manufacturers 2026 nominees

Laura Brailey, Mazda

Laura Brailey now oversees the entire UK sales operations for the Japanese brand after promotion in 2023 from her previous role of head of retail operations. In that position, gained in 2017, she was responsible for Mazda’s dealer network in the UK, following a step up from national sales manager. Brailey joined Mazda in 1995 to provide maternity cover but stayed on to rise through the ranks within sales.

Claire English, Volkswagen Group

Claire English moved to her current role at Cupra and Seat in 2022, helping to accelerate the Volkswagen Group brands’ sales performance in the UK. She secured the post after impressing as head of fleet at Audi, overseeing a team of 20 tasked with working with corporate, contract hire, rental and Motability. Prior to that promotion in 2021, she was head of fleet for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK. She started at the Volkswagen Group in 2003 as a graduate trainee, gaining a full-time position first at Skoda and then Volkswagen Passenger Cars.

Sarah Nelmes, JLR

Sarah Nelmes is responsible for JLR’s sales network strategy globally, including deciding the numbers of dealers needed to reflect JLR’s more luxury positioning and where to cut back. She was promoted to the role in 2019 from the position of head of network development and learning for the UK franchises. She joined JLR in 2012 from the Volkswagen Group, where she started out in the automotive industry in 1999 in an accounting position before rising to the post of regional brand manager. Sarah gained a degree in business studies in 1997 from Northampton University.

Catherine Baker, Volkswagen Group

Catherine Baker continues her rise within the Volkswagen Group following her appointment to this key role in October 2025, where she oversees One Aftersales, the group’s huge parts operation that focuses on the volume brands, including vans. She also sits on the Volkswagen Group UK board. Baker stepped up from her previous position of leading Volkswagen’s Trade Parts Specialist division, which distributes 11.5 million genuine parts for all group brands. Baker joined Volkswagen in 2012 from Mercedes-Benz and gained wide-ranging experience in the Volkswagen Group’s financial services division before moving to lead dealer training in 2018. She is also the senior sponsor for the group's Inspire initiative, which runs outreach programmes for schools and colleges.

Charlotte Dickson, McLaren Automotive

Charlotte Dickson added China to her regional responsibility as head of the supercar brand’s Asia Pacific region in 2025, living up to her inclusion in the 2019 Autocar Great Women Rising Stars. That has added to her already busy roster of 15 retailers in the region, for which she sets the strategic direction and oversees performance. She was promoted to this Singapore-based position from her previous role as market manager for North Asia in 2020, also based in Singapore. Dickson started working in the automotive industry on a marketing placement at Bentley in the US before moving to Rolls-Royce as a sales graduate in 2007 and switching to McLaren in 2016.

Sharon Townsend, International Motors Group

Sharon Townsend has dedicated more than 25 years to Mitsubishi Motors, progressing through various roles in customer service, product planning, press relations, vehicle logistics and operations before becoming head of International Motors Mitsubishi Aftersales Parts and Service. While the focus is on aftersales, the role could be expanded following Mitsubishi’s decision to return to the UK after its exit in 2021. In her role, she manages the nationwide aftersales network, supporting parts, warranty, technical help and customer retention programmes. In 2024, Townsend was also given responsibility for aftersales for International Motors’ latest brand, Xpeng.

Sarah Brettle, Ford UK

Sarah Brettle looks after Ford’s aftersales in the UK and Ireland, making sure this key revenue channel stays profitable through her oversight of Ford’s network of repairers and body shops. She reports directly to Nigel Brackenbury, head of the customer service division for Ford of Europe. Brettle joined Ford in 1998 as a direct sales manager and worked her way through aftersales to take up her current post in 2020. Her key achievements include the rollout of the Ford Certified Collision network.

Helen Hodgson, Stellantis

Helen Hodgson became aftersales operations director following a promotion in 2025 from her previous role as simplification and transformation director. In that job, which she took up in 2023, she planned the since-delayed switch to a direct sales ‘agency’ model. Prior to that, she was head of fleet operations for Peugeot, Citroën and DS. Among her previous jobs within Stellantis’s forerunner, the PSA group, she was the first to hold the title of head of electric vehicles and connected services when it was created in the UK in 2016. A former Autocar Great Women Rising Star, Hodgson joined Peugeot as a graduate and has worked through the business in a series of increasingly senior sales and aftersales roles.