MANAGING Director of Carmmunity, Hamel Patel, is leaving the procurement platform and Ford terms holder to join Chinese OEM BYD.
The move, to an unspecified role as yet, will see Hamel return to the OEM world having joined Carmmunity seven years ago from Ford, where he was Regional Contract Hire & Leasing Manager.
Hamel described the opportunity to join BYD as “too good to turn down”.
Hamel was first appointed to Carmmunity as Sales & Marketing Director, going on to lead a highly successful operation, driving growth, and reshaping the business with the Carmmunity+ platform.
In November last year, Hamel was made Managing Director.
Deborah Viitanen, owner of Frontline Leasing & Fleet Management, which trades as Carmmunity, expressed her thanks to Hamel.
“Hamel’s contribution has been outstanding and we wish him every success in this next chapter of his career,” she said.
“Hamel’s energy, strategic insight, and unwavering commitment will be immensely missed by colleagues and friends across the company.”
“Carmmunity will carry on as normal, with additional OEM engagement and new and exciting features coming soon on the new Carmmunity C+ digital platform, making it even more efficient for broker partners and dealers.”
There has been no announcement yet on who will succeed Hamel as Managing Director. Dave McLaughlin, who joined Carmmunity from ALD/Ayvens last November, was appointed Sales & Marketing Director in November last year.
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Ralph Morton is the leading journalist in the leasing broker sector and editor of Broker News, the website which provides information and news for BVRLA-registered leasing brokers. He also writes extensively on the fleet and leasing market in both the UK and Europe.
