Motorist’s organisation strengthens team
The Motorist’s Organisation has just strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Craig Stevens, as a non-executive director.
Craig Stevens, a former executive director of Auto Trader, was integral in taking Auto Trader from a print media group, to a GBP2 billion online publicly-quoted business and has a proven track record in accelerating growth in digital businesses. Craig Stevens has vast commercial experience in digital and automotive and brings a wealth of experience to the Board.
The appointment of Craig Stevens coincides with the appointment of another non-executive director, David Riemenschneider, who has over 30 years experience working in the automotive sector, having been CEO of Clifford Thames and at Ford, holding senior roles in both the US and Europe.
The two new appointments are part of major investment in The Motorist’s Organisation by Ashridge Capital, which has invested over £750,000 in the firm. The Motorist’s Organisation is looking to expand its range of products and services aimed at UK garages and aims to lead the digitization of the sector in the UK.
The Motorist’s Organisation, founded by serial entrepreneur Douglas Rotberg, has created a platform that enables thousands of independent and franchised garages to provide real-time pricing for MOTs, car services and repairs, based on their newly created industry standard service schedules, bringing transparency and demystifying the differences between the three services. The strength of the platform and proposition to both motorists and garages led to The Motorist’s Organisation signing a partnership with the RAC to create RAC Garage Compare (RACGarageCompare.co.uk) in December 2014 to support the nationwide launch of the service.
Douglas Rotberg, CEO from the Motorist’s Organisation said, ‘We are delighted to have Craig and David on board, as they bring a huge amount of automotive experience and skill sets that will enable us further develop our growth strategy.
‘It is tremendous to receive further investment from Ashridge Capital to help us expand and grow our business, given the large market opportunity we have. We also now have an excellent board and shareholders that provide us with a fantastic mix of skills and experience to help us ensure the company achieves its full potential.’
Craig Stevens, non-executive director of The Motorist’s Organisation commented, ‘I am really looking forward to working with the management team to help garages grow and develop their digital platforms.
‘Many garages need support to boost online bookings and improve the overall performance of their websites. We will be developing a range of new products that will enable garages to enhance the service they offer customers and ultimately drive business growth.’
