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Name: Lauren Lawson
Job title: Strategic Account Manager, Ford Fleet Management
How long in role: 1 year
Current drive? Ford Mustang Mach-E
WHEN Lauren narrowly missed out on her first choice of university back in 2010, she needed a stop-gap job. She took a part time customer service role within the broker sector and admits that back then she had no intention of progressing an automotive career.
But Lauren is now a real advocate for the automotive sector and thinks she was always ‘destined for a customer facing role’. From the start, she discovered a passion for working with customers and found herself ‘hungry to build a career in the industry’. Lauren commented:
‘When I started out in this industry I was coming into a man’s world as a young woman. I wanted to prove to myself and to everyone I worked with that I was good at my job and deserved to be there.’
Lauren certainly did that, working her way up to a Head of Corporate Sales position with AFL. Then last year, ‘hungry for new opportunities’ Lauren made the move to Ford Fleet Management (FFM) where she is now Strategic Account Manager.
Lauren describes her role as extremely varied. She is responsible for looking after key accounts with a focus on developing relationships and managing the in-life experience. She explains:
‘No two days are ever the same in this role; Ford Fleet Management’s consultative approach enables me to really get into the minutiae of how our customers are running their fleets, and how we, and our trusted supply network, can help them achieve their objectives – whether that be electrification, compliance or implementing cost-saving initiatives.’
Over the last decade, Lauren says she has seen real change in the automotive sector and celebrates the growth of women in executive positions, commenting:
‘It’s really encouraging that female representation in the industry is going from strength to strength. At Ford Fleet Management, almost half of our team are women.’
So, why is Lauren such an advocate for working in automotive? For her, the pace of innovation makes the sector ‘a hugely exciting place to work’. Particularly with the momentum of the uptake of PHEV and BEV vehicles.
Having swapped her Smart EQ for the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Lauren says she now couldn’t see herself returning to an ICE vehicle as her day-to-day car. Lauren is also excited for new Ford products coming down the track, such as the New All-Electric Ford Explorer.
Lauren says that overall gender share in leadership roles in the automotive sector is still not where it needs to be. She says:
“There’s definitely more that the automotive industry could do to promote the breadth of roles available. It’s so important that prospective candidates don’t think of our sector as purely technician-based or showroom type jobs.”
‘My advice for success in this sector? Have confidence in yourself, be tenacious and level-headed. You also need to be open to growth and new opportunities – that’s absolutely key in automotive given the speed of change.’
About Ford Fleet Management:
Ford Fleet Management offers a one-stop fleet leasing and management solution that can integrate vehicles, finance, infrastructure and maintenance into a single convenient package. Ford Fleet Management combines Ford’s vehicle expertise with the leasing and fleet management knowledge of Ayvens (previously ALD Automotive). Its uptime centric approach is at the heart of all its products and services and it provides fleet management solutions tailored to meet every business need.
More On Our Women in Broking Series
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Women in Broking is our regular series of features highlighting some of the great women who are so influential in the leasing broker sector – a sector that has been male dominated for too long. The series celebrates the Women in Broking – both those working in brokerages and those working with the broker channel – and hopes to encourage more women to have a successful career in the leasing broker market. If you would like to take part in this series please contact Laura.Lerwill@mortonmedia.co.uk
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Laura is a writer and Head of Marketing for Broker News, with extensive automotive experience from senior marketing roles with RBS/Nat West, Lombard Vehicle Management and Unipart. She is also a self-confessed petrol-head.
