Bodyshop magazine is excited to announce the 2023 winners of our 30 Under 30: Rising Stars initiative, which is now in its seventh year.
The 30 talented individuals embody what is best about the UK accident repair industry and they represent a very bright future for our sector. The winners come from across a wide range of job functions and from almost every part of the supply chain – including apprentices and technicians, business owners and bodyshop managers, administration, marketing, recruitment, VDAs and engineers, suppliers and distribution and insurance.
The Bodyshop Magazine 30 Under 30: Rising Stars class of 2023 are as follows (in alphabetical order):
- Ahmed Abutair | 25 | Finance manager | iRG Innovative Repair Group
- Jessica Akati | 25 | Marketing manager | Grove Group
- Oliver Bates | 23 | Panel technician | Chartwell
- Lee Bristow | 30 | Supply chain business executive | First Central Insurance
- Georgia Brown | 28 | Network Relationship Manager | LKQ Euro Car Parts
- Oliver Canham | 22 | Test engineer apprentice | Thatcham Research
- Ashleigh Cox | 27 | Bodyshop manager | Foray Motor Group Yeovil
- Ben Daykin | 20 | Senior IT support analyst | Entegral
- Sophie Dixon | 30 | Lincoln site manager | Steer Automotive Lincoln
- Charlie Dominy | 23 | Business support south | Grove Group
- Connor Drake | 29 | Site team leader | Apollo Accident Repair Bexhill
- Shawn Dyson | 26 | Panel technician | Solus ARC Nottingham
- Sophie Finnis | 28 | Group VDA | Apollo Accident Repair Group
- James Healey | 23 | Paint technician | Smartxpress Paint and Body
- Callum James | 24 | Vehicle damage assessor | iRG Pontypridd
- Jade Johnson | 30 | Commercial and sustainability co-ordinator | Steer Automotive Group
- Shannon Kuchnir | 25 | Operations director | Maldon ARC
- Cori Marriott | 18 | Apprentice MET technician | Solus ARC Nottingham
- Sam McAfee | 25 | Panel and MET technician | iRG Bristol
- Scott McKinlay | 25 | Director | Paintline
- Stevie Newcombe | 29 | Customer service assistant | The Vella Group Liverpool
- Calum Phillips | 27 | Assistant bodyshop manager/director | M J Warner Group/PartsXchange
- Hannah Stride | 26 | Bodyshop recruitment consultant | Talent Connect Group
- Kayleigh Taylor | 29 | Network performance analyst | Vizion Network
- Alex Thorogood | 24 | Technical sales manager | U-Pol
- Carl Townley | 27 | Compliance manager | XL Motors
- Nathan Webber | 27 | Trainee panel technician | Fix Auto Mid Devon
- Luke White | 27 | Assistant bodyshop manager | EV Bodyshops
- Chester Wilman | 20 | Trainee VDA | Foray Motor Group Salisbury
- Kareem Zaman | 26 | Retail VDA | Autocraft Telford
Bodyshop editor Simon Wait said: “Congratulations to all of this year’s outstanding winners. It has been a difficult selection job for the judges, with more entrants than ever before and top-quality candidates across the entire piece. Once again, an impressive group of young people have emerged and we believe this places the future of our industry in safe hands.
“I would like to thank everybody who has been involved in the competition, especially our 30 Under 30: Rising Stars sponsor 3M UK, all the nominators, our judges and, of course, those who entered but didn’t make it into the final 30 this time round,” he added.
Each 30 Under 30 winner will be presented with a unique trophy during the Bodyshop Awards & Expo 2023 on 28 September at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole in the grounds of the NEC.
To join your industry peers in celebrating this fantastic group, visit our Bodyshop Awards & Expo registration page.
Use #bodyshopawards, #30under30 and @bodyshopmag to join the conversation on social media.
