Starling lands key commercial role

SMH Fleet Solutions has named James Starling as chief commercial officer.

He joins the business from senior roles at Toyota and Lexus Finance, and Lex Autolease.

The move sees a restructure of its commercial and IT operations to deliver faster and more flexible services to fleets, OEMs and dealer customers.

Starling said: “Following a thorough review of the business and the market, SMH sees the opportunity to set itself apart by investing in innovative technology and our people to drive excellent service from a customer centred company.

“We have accelerated investment plans and the development in our IT services and infrastructure platforms in 2021 to meet the demands of a market shifting to a broader range of flexible mobility solutions and an accelerated transition to electric vehicles. Our ambition is to be recognised through the services we deliver as the UK’s leading high-quality provider of new vehicle, in-life, remarketing, salvage and logistic services to the fleet market.”

Meanwhile, SMH Fleet Solutions has created a new quality function that places customer service at the heart of the business. Mark Elliott has been promoted to quality director and will lead a function that consolidates all inspections, continuous improvement, and customer experience.