The Winners - The Automotive 30% Club

An Inspiring Automotive Woman meets many of the following judging criteria:

helping to promote the company as an employer of choice for women
creating solutions and policies to help women to thrive in the workplace
raising awareness of intersectionality and underrepresented female groups
undertaking schools outreach
establishing a D&I or women’s network
mentoring or coaching female colleagues
being an inspirational female role model or an outstanding trailblazer in a role usually done by men
inspiring her peers to create an inclusive culture
driving change to ensure we serve female customers better

All our winners have amazing stories and thoroughly deserve their awards and the recognition. Here’s a short excerpt from the nominations that supported each award winner so that you can learn why they are all so inspirational.

Aliscia received an incredible 9 nominations from colleagues including her CEO, who recognised her determination to change the game. She is named as the driving force behind company DEI strategy—turning vision into meaningful action and ensuring that inclusivity is embedded at every level of the business. She co-ordinates the colleague network groups and her efforts have directly contributed to an increased female intake on the Future Leaders Programme. She organises outreach visits to schools across the country, showcasing the wide range of opportunities available within the automotive industry. One of her nominators said: “Through her leadership, we are challenged to think more deeply, act more intentionally, and build an environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.”

Alyx has led her company Women’s Network for the past three years, where women across the organisation come together to discuss challenges and share strategies. She created a safe space for conversations about women’s health and the impact it has at work, inviting an external speaker to educate the wider organisation. She has also introduced peer-led sessions on building confidence, fostering self-directed learning and personal development. She has helped to roll out the Confidence Project, which successfully closed the apparent confidence gap between the senior male and female leaders. to all levels in her company.

Charnjit’s experience of running a dealership early in her career shaped her views on equality. Despite being the owner, she was often mistaken for a receptionist by male customers. This experience opened her eyes to the subtle but powerful biases that women face in the automotive industry and inspired her determination to build a business where every individual, regardless of gender, is valued equally. Under her leadership, more than 50% of her company workforce are women. She has ensured that every employee is treated with respect, dignity, and kindness. She has introduced flexible hiring practices, removed the expectation to justify career gaps, and ensured that flexible working is offered to all colleagues as standard, not as an exception.

Clare is described as an outstanding leader who exemplifies not only the strength of women in leadership but also the versatility and transferable skills gained from different industries. She is a trailblazer and has been the sole female leader in the Commercial/Sales space in her company, driving innovation, leading change, and introducing new ways of working that have delivered products into the business at pace. She is the Chair of her company’s Colleague Forum and coaches female colleagues, helping them achieve performance levels higher than ever before. She champions their work, showcases their achievements, and breaks down barriers with her pragmatic, no-nonsense approach.

Emma started as a placement student and has risen to the UK board. She is a strong advocate for women in automotive, and a champion for inclusion and diversity of thinking at her company. She took a lead role in a strategic working group to develop the next phase of her company’s DE&I strategy. She connects with external organisations such as Channel 4 and the England Cricket Board – bringing learnings to her organisation. She advocated for improving inclusivity and diversity within Cricket when guest Speaker at an ECB Disability Cricket event. She coaches female colleagues, having completed her ILM coaching qualification and she supports and inspires those around her. Her nominator states that “she’s a role model for all.”

Gemma’s leadership is characterized by her ability to embed inclusion into every facet of the employee experience, while championing equity and representation at all levels. Her achievements include Inclusive Recruitment Manager Training, Inclusive Leadership training, Dignity at Work training and online inclusion modules. She has ensured D&I is embedded across the employee lifecycle, integrating inclusive practices into recruitment, onboarding, and performance management. She advocated for fair pay and transparent progression, including gender pay gap monitoring, pay transparency, and policy upgrades for maternity, paternity, carers, pregnancy loss, fertility, and neonatal care. She has influenced wider change in the European parent company with initiatives such as the Aspiring Manager Programme and Female Leadership Apprenticeships, integrating unconscious bias training, inclusive recruitment guides, and succession planning with a gender equity lens.

Gemma was a rare female trailblazer in the traditionally male dominated Area Manager role. During her tenure she increased the female store and deputy managers in her area from 9% to 30%, and the female specialist representation to 25%. She was able to demonstrate that having more diverse teams led to higher performance, with her Area being ranked 1st out of 18. She also showed that the company Health & Safety teams with women included can be up to three times safer than all male teams. She is the Senior Sponsor of her company Women’s Colleague Network and being an active inspirational female role model on social media has resulted in a 20% increase of colleague queries related to joining the Women’s network.

Georgia has been a visible advocate for accident repair careers since she transferred from vehicle technician apprenticeship and is now a qualified Panel Technician. She has represented her company in the press, social media, schools outreach activities and in Auto30Club Campaigns. She has taken a lead role in a WhatsApp group for female apprentices, and has encouraged and helped others. She is a role model for other women in accident repair, and male colleagues regard her as a talented Panel Technician and cite that their daughters are now aspiring to follow in her footsteps because they can see that the job their father does, can also be done by women. She is an inspiring woman because her story connects with so many other young people.

Harriet faced knockbacks and rejection but continued to look forward and didn’t let a ‘not now’ become a ‘not ever’. She then trailblazed as the first female Regional Director, leading two regions within the network. Now her regional management team has five female managers, including a Service Manager in her Oldham dealership. She drives diversity in the workplace, and is a member of the Gender Diversity working group. Her regions were amongst the first to have female shower/washroom facilities installed and her Manchester dealership now employs 2 female Technicians. Harriet is an inspirational and hands-on leader, and passed her Class 1 HGV licence first time, to support her team with vehicle deliveries and hand overs, breaking down male stereotypes in the HGV industry.

Heidi has fundamentally transformed what Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging looks like at her organisation. Prior to her joining, the business had no DEIB strategy, no networks and limited visibility of who they were as a workforce. Today, inclusion is part of the company DNA and embedded into the mission, vision, leadership and culture. She launched five employee networks, and each network has an ExCo sponsor and regular engagement from colleagues across the business. The groups have a clear purpose and meaningfully contribute to our culture. She has coached the People Team to apply a DEIB lens to every people initiative, ensuring inclusion is considered from the beginning of any policy or process. As a result, the company has an almost 50/50 gender balance in the Executive Committee and Senior Leadership Team. She has also driven targeted and strategic actions which have reduced the gender pay gap from 22% to 14%.

Holly is a trailblazer in a high-pressure sales performance environment in the Trade Parts Specialists division, being the only female Regional Performance Manager. She has improved the performance of her area by £1m Year on Year. Her leadership of the Empowering Women Employee Network Group has resulted in improved policies, with examples including prioritising safety when travelling for work, and ensuring job descriptions show where job shares will be considered, to attract more women into senior part time management roles. She was a member of the INSPIRE committee which works to inspire young people to explore careers in the automotive sector.

Katie is part of an ExCo that’s 75% male and a space where historically, men have driven the business. Her presence and leadership style demonstrate what inclusive and open-minded leadership looks like in action. She is pioneering a ‘See it to be it’ campaign, bringing female role models together to demonstrate a collaborative, empathic leadership style and encourage other leaders and aspiring women to do the same. She is leading her company’s ‘Women in Leadership’ working group, and key initiatives include tailored learning programmes, health and wellbeing programmes with specific support for men and women, female-first mentoring, networking events, and leading research and surveys to identify the actions that will have the most impact for women.

Kayleigh is a trailblazer for cultural change and was the first-ever female Board-level member within her company. She brought a progressive, people-centred approach that reshaped the business, prioritising culture, wellbeing, and employee experience. She has shifted the HR function from operational and transactional, to transformational and people-focused – proving that a strong culture is the foundation of a successful automotive business. Through mentoring and coaching, she has elevated female managers, encouraged career progression in non-traditional roles, and challenged outdated perceptions of what women can achieve. Her nominator says “We look back three years as a group and realise what a pivotal point in time it was when she joined the group, changing our culture to being more inclusive and driving change for the better for our employees and customers.”

Lorraine is a female technology leader trailblazer and is recognised for encouraging women to pursue automotive and tech careers. She organised a “Girls in Tech” event for local female students, creating an engaging and informative experience to showcase automotive and technology, and providing hands-on experiences to help ignite their interest. She is committed to supporting other women in technology and by participating in the ELEVATEHER program, a platform designed to connect aspiring women in tech with mentors who are experienced professionals, she encourages more women to pursue careers in automotive tech. Her role as a mentor and advocate makes her an exceptional role model, paving the way for future female leaders and shaping a more inclusive automotive tech landscape.

Lottie is a catalyst for cultural change, a champion for inclusion, and has been a driving force behind the introduction of flexible working policies that better support parents and caregivers, ensuring talented women can continue to thrive and progress in their careers. These changes have improved retention and engagement across the business. She organised an ‘Unmute’ workshop designed to build confidence and empower women to speak up about their experiences and created a dedicated women-only communication channel offering a safe space for discussion around topics that are not always shared publicly. She also mentors several aspiring female leaders, and actively advocates for inclusive recruitment practices that also consider ethnicity, age, disability and neurodiversity, and as a young female leader, speaks candidly about her own experiences relating to disability and underrepresentation.

Mandisa was one of our winners in 2024 for creating global women-focused development programmes delivering real promotions and leadership and she has continued to make significant further impact. Her reverse mentoring programme has expanded across three continents, empowering women to influence senior leaders and shape culture, and she has secured senior sponsorship, coaching, and mentoring for 130+ women globally, earning recognition as “a force of nature” and “the blueprint for real change.” She exposed compounded barriers for ethnic minority women, leading to a board-approved programme reshaping recruitment, development, and progression systems, and influenced senior leaders to create equitable sponsorship and development opportunities. She co-designed event for school students with the Education & Outreach team, connecting students with women in apprenticeships, engineering, and leadership to make automotive careers feel achievable.

Sarah is a highly engaged member of the company’s Ability Network Group. As a key sponsor she helped to shape the business case for diversifying the Data and Analytics apprenticeship programmes, to attract a broader range of talent. She challenges traditional norms in finance by demonstrating that strategic thinking can be empathic, creative, and human. She leads with an inclusive mindset, making everyone feel seen, heard, and valued – traits that naturally support intersectional thinking. She uses her authenticity and courage to share openly, and recently spoke about her experience during ADHD Awareness Month—using her lived experiences to encourage others to be bold, own their story, and not let challenges stand in the way of success.

Sarah has always been an advocate for skills, inclusion and professionalism in the automotive sector. She championed the IMI’s Diversity Taskforce, as Chair of the Physical and Non-visible disabilities group, and through partnerships, public speaking and ambassadorial roles, she challenges outdated perceptions of automotive and technical careers, promoting accessible pathways for young women. Her advocacy is critical in a sector where only 6% of automotive apprentices are female. She recently returned to the IMI for a temporary period as Interim CEO and immediately stabilised the organisation following a period of leadership turbulence. During this time, she refocused the culture around people, wellbeing, inclusion, and transparency, and her leadership brought clarity, confidence, and unity at a time when it was most needed.

Sian is the only woman on the executive team and one of her organisation’s most visible advocates for women. She operates with influence, presence, and impact in a space historically dominated by men. She is redefining what senior leadership looks like. Her enthusiasm for creating inclusive and equitable growth pathways is evident in the six development programmes she has created for colleagues at every level, including the organisation’s first all-female leadership programme, ensuring intentional focus on developing women into future leadership roles. She is passionate about schools outreach and developing diverse future talent, has led multiple graduate programmes, and remains deeply engaged in apprenticeships and building inclusive early careers pathways.

Vicky is not only paving the way for women, but for people of colour and those from a working-class background. As the inaugural chair of her company’s Race, Religion, and Ethnicity Focus Group, she has driven initiatives that significantly benefit her colleagues. These include ensuring managers were equipped with the knowledge and tools to provide sensitive, informed support to colleagues who were fasting during Ramadan. She arranged for an external ED&I expert to deliver inclusivity training, leading to the delivery of an education programme for more than 200 business leaders, bringing the concept of conscious inclusion to life in a practical and impactful way.

Vicky is the Chair of her company’s Women with Drive employee resource group. Her leadership and passion have been instrumental in the group’s success, and she consistently creates a safe and inspiring space for open discussion, encourages participation from across the business, and ensures initiatives make a real and lasting impact. She champions mentoring, professional development, and allyship, empowering women across the organisation to progress and grow in confidence. She ensures our initiatives are inclusive, reaching colleagues from as many departments as possible. Her commitment extends beyond the everyday, creating innovative “skill pills” that enable women to thrive in their roles, creating a “book club” to support younger employees on their career progression and assisting male colleagues to understand modern working practices. Her passion for female inclusion is infectious and is creating more advocates within the business. She is also a key force behind the “Girls with Drive” schools outreach initiative. Her nominator says she is a true trailblazer and an exceptional example of leadership within the automotive sector. Her influence extends far beyond her immediate role, inspiring women across the business to achieve their full potential and helping to shape a more inclusive and equitable workplace.

Vikki is an exceptional trailblazing leader whose career journey and influence exemplify the spirit of this award. Her rapid progression in just 10 years from Sales Executive to become, at the age of 28, the CMA General Manager of one of her company’s most successful dealerships reflects her determination, resilience, and expertise in automotive retail. She drives continuous improvement, achieving exceptional results in customer satisfaction and operational performance, alongside strong financial outcomes. She is proof that competence and expertise beat legacy experience. She fosters an inclusive environment where both men and women are encouraged to grow and succeed. Under her leadership, half of the sales team are women, and she coached a female colleague from Trainee Sales Executive to become a New Car Sales Manager, demonstrating her commitment to developing future leaders. She actively promotes the automotive industry as a career choice for women, highlighting her company’s commitment to work-life balance and training.

The Auto30Club Inspiring Automotive Women Awards of 2026!

Aliscia Burrows

Aliscia Burrows – Diversity and Inclusion Manager at TrustFord

Alyx Gregory

Alyx Gregory – Head of Commercial Operations and Leasing at Carwow

Charnjit Saranna

Charnjit Saranna – Co Founder and Chief Operations Officer at EZOO

Clare Bradley

Clare Bradley – Commercial Director, Motor at Close Brothers Motor Finance

Emma Johnson

Emma Johnson – Director, Marketing at Toyota GB

Gemma Benbow

Gemma Benbow – People and Organisation Director at Kia UK

Gemma Tomlinson-Reynolds

Gemma Tomlinson-Reynolds – Head of Retail Change, Implementation and Communication at Halfords

Georgia Spybey

Georgia Spybey – Panel Technician at Solus Accident Repair Centres

Harriet Glover

Harriet Glover – Regional Director at Motus Commercials DAF

Heidi Physick

Heidi Physick – Chief People Officer at Oodle Car Finance

Holly Tuffnell

Holly Tuffnell – TPS Regional Performance Manager at VW Group UK

Katie Martin

Katie Martin – Customer Experience Director at Group 1 Automotive UK

Kayleigh Smithers

Kayleigh Smithers – Group HR Director at Johnsons Cars Limited & Brayleys Cars Limited

Lorraine Dodd

Lorraine Dodd – IS IT Director at Renault UK

Lottie Roberts

Lottie Roberts – Operations Director at Direct Affinity CX

Mandisa Gordon

Mandisa Gordon – Finance Business Change Manager at JLR

Sarah Greaves

Sarah Greaves – Director of Commercial Finance at Lithia UK

Sarah Sillars

Sarah Sillars – OBE Hon FIMI – C Suite and Board Adviser

Sian Hall

Sian Hall – UK People Director at Lithia UK

Vicky Clarke

Vicky Clarke – Head of Rental at Zenith Vehicles

Vicky Gardner

Vicky Gardner – Retail Group Sales Director at Cox Automotive

Vikki Chauntry-Brooks

Vikki Chauntry-Brooks – CMA General Manager at Vertu Motors Plc

IAW Awards 2026 content…

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