Winners 2024

Sales 2024

Appointed as sales director for Mercedes-Benz cars in the UK in February 2023, Sally Dennis took over a key role that came with the added responsibility of shifting the premium brand’s sales to the ‘agency’ model, under which Mercedes sells direct to the public via its dealer agents. Dennis sits on the board and reports to outgoing Mercedes UK CEO Gary Savage.

Before her current role, she was the brand’s used car and remarketing director, also a board position. In addition, she was an advisory board member between 2020 and 2023 of new and used car website Heycar UK, in which Mercedes’ finance arm has an investment.

Dennis joined Mercedes in 2012 from the Volkswagen Group, where she worked as account manager for Audi and rose to national fleet sales manager at Seat. Since moving to Mercedes, she has held various senior positions, including head of fleet and customer operations director at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.

Sales 2024 nominees

Sarah Lidster, BMW Group Financial Services

Sarah Lidster was promoted to her current senior role in 2023, handing her the additional responsibility for the digital strategies of both BMW’s finance brand Alphera and the Alphabet leasing company on top of her work overhauling the financial application process within BMW Financial Services for new and used car customers. She has worked for BMW since 2016, after joining from the AA, starting as a marketing manager for the insurance division before moving onto marketing for BMW and its motorbike arm.

Roisin Hopkins, Horiba MIRA

Roisin Hopkins is in charge of winning new work for the highly regarded UK-based, Japanese-owned automotive testing facility, reporting directly to Horiba MIRA's managing director, Declan Allen. She also sits on the company’s board. Prior to her promotion in 2021, she was in charge of automotive testing, overseeing a staff of around 180 engineers and technicians. She joined back in 1990 after gaining a degree in mathematics and engineering and a PhD in System Identification Occupant Simulation from Loughborough University.

Nicola Dobson, Stellantis

Nicola Dobson’s rise through the ranks at Peugeot then the wider Stellantis organisation led in 2023 to her being promoted to her current senior role overseeing used cars for the whole Stellantis group. She joined Peugeot as a commercial graduate in 2000, taking ever more senior positions and gaining a knowledge across the UK sales organisation, including in fleet, daily rental, marketing, communications and distribution. She moved to her current role from two years as marketing director for Citroën in the UK.

Laura Brailey, Mazda

Laura Brailey now oversees the entire UK sales operations for the Japanese brand following 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 promotion from national sales manager. Brailey joined Mazda in 1995 as maternity cover but stayed on to rise through the ranks within sales.

Lina Ribeiro, Renault Group

Lina Ribeiro leads the new car sales operations team for Renault passenger cars, LCV and Dacia, a job she has held since 2021. Lina joined Renault UK in 2002, starting as a parts marketing administrator and has risen through the ranks of sales since, including three years spent looking into customer satisfaction for Renault France. Since overseeing sales, Lina has boosted Renault’s performance to the point it was the fastest growing brand in 2023. She has also improved both Renault and Dacia’s standing with dealers, moving Renault from last to 17th and Dacia from 16th to 9th in the last NFDA survey.

Claire English

Claire English is one of the very few women within the VW Group in the UK to head up sales for a brand. She moved into the role at Cupra and Seat in 2022 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 overseeing the biggest LCV orders. She started at the VW Group in 2003 as a graduate trainee, gaining a full time position at first Skoda and then VW 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. 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 VW Group, where she started out in automotive 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.

Charlotte Dickson, McLaren Automotive

Named one of 2019’s Autocar Great Women Rising Stars, Charlotte Dickson has since been promoted to become McLaren’s point person in the Asia-Pacific in charge of 15 retailers with responsibility to determine the strategic direction in the region. She was promoted from her previous role as market manager for North Asia in 2020. She started in automotive on a marketing placement at Bentley in the U.S. before moving to Rolls-Royce cars as a sales graduate in 2007 and switching to McLaren in 2016.

Sharon Wright, Toyota GB

Sharon Wright is responsible for over 180 Toyota and 46 Lexus retailers across the UK, implementing new plans such as the retail concepts and national EV infrastructure and agreeing network standards. She joined Toyota in 2018 as a senior consultant to research fleet readiness across Toyota’s European markets. She came from dealer group HR Owen where she was special projects director for two years.