Our leadership - ZIGUP plc

Avril Palmer-Baunack

Non-executive Chairman

Key areas of expertise:

Avril has more than 25 years’ experience in leading businesses in the automotive industry in a number of senior executive and non-executive roles and was appointed as Non-Executive Chairman in August 2019

Current external appointments:

Currently executive Chairman of Constellation Automotive Group and Chairman and Non-Executive Director of MAC Alpha Limited.

Previous experience

Previously held roles as Non-executive Chairman of Quartix plc, Non-executive Chairman of Redde plc, Executive Chairman of Stobart Group and Chief Executive Officer of Autologic Holdings plc and of Universal Salvage plc, Non-Executive Chairman of Safe Harbour Holdings plc

Joined Board

August 2019

Committee membership

Remuneration Committee
Nominations Committee Chairman

Martin Ward

Chief Executive Officer

Key areas of expertise:

Martin was appointed to the Board as CEO in February 2020 as the former CEO of Redde plc, having been on the Board of Redde plc since 2009, after joining a subsidiary of the Group as Managing Director in 2005. Martin has over 25 years’ insurance industry and vehicle sector experience.

Current external appointments:

None.

Previous experience

Jointly founded the Rarrigini & Rosso Group in 1994, a leading independent wholesale motor fleet, property and risk management insurance business, which was later acquired by THB plc in 2003. Martin has an MBA from Durham University.

Joined Board

February 2020

Rachel Coulson

Chief Financial Officer

Key areas of expertise:

Rachel was appointed as CFO in August 2025. She has extensive experience in senior finance roles across a range of sectors worldwide.

Current external appointments:

None.

Previous experience:

Group Deputy CFO at Pearson PLC and has held several senior finance roles across the UK and US since 2014. Prior to Pearson, Rachel held senior finance positions at Vodafone, having begun her career at EY.

Joined Board

August 2025

John Pattullo OBE

Senior Independent Director and Remuneration Committee Chairman

Key areas of expertise:

John was appointed to the Board as a Non-executive Director in January 2019, Senior Independent Director in September 2019 and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee in May 2022 and has a wide range of experience in a number of executive roles in the consumer goods and logistics sectors and non-executive roles across a range of other industries.

Current external appointments:

Chairman of Berkshire and Surrey Pathology Service

Previous experience

John was Chairman of V Group until December 2020. Other previous non-executive roles include Non-Executive Director of Wincanton plc, Senior Independent Director and Remuneration Committee Chairman of Electrocomponents plc, Chairman of NHS Blood & Transplant, Chairman of Marken Logistics and Chairman of In Kind Direct, a Prince’s charity. Chief Executive Officer of Ceva Logistics Ltd between 2007 and 2012. Before that, John worked for Exel plc/DHL where he led the EMEA logistics business and, prior to that, held a number of senior global supply chain appointments with Procter & Gamble.

Joined Board

January 2019

Committee membership

Audit Committee
Remuneration Committee Chairman
Nominations Committee

Mark Butcher

Non-executive Director and Audit Committee Chairman

Key areas of expertise:

Mark was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Remuneration Committee in September 2019; since 2020 he has chaired the Audit Committee. Mark has more than 20 years’ public company experience including international accounting, corporate finance and banking transactions, as well as sitting on a number of public company boards.

Current external appointments:

Non-Executive Director of Zytronic plc, Logistics Development Group plc and EBP Holdings Limited.

Previous experience

Non-Executive Director of AssetCo plc from 2012 to 2023. Mark has more than 20 years’ public company experience working predominantly for GPG (UK) Holdings plc, the UK investment arm of Guinness Peat Group plc, where he managed a significant proportion of group investments.

Joined Board

September 2019

Committee membership

Audit Committee Chairman
Remuneration Committee
Nominations Committee

Bindi Karia

Non-executive Director

Key areas of expertise:

Bindi was appointed to the Board as a Non-executive Director in May 2022. Bindi brings deep experience in technology and innovation having held senior board, investment and advisory roles across the technology ecosystem in Europe.

Current external appointments:

Currently a Non-Executive Director for Telecomms plc, a Venture Partner at Molten Ventures Plc, which is a European Technology Venture Capital Fund. Bindi is also an advisory board member of CognitionX, Humanity Health and Wrisk Ltd and a World Economic Forum member for the Digital Leaders of Europe. Bindi also serves on the University of East London Board of Governors, where she is also Chair of the Ethics Advisory Committee.

Previous experience

Bindi has previously held a variety of senior technology roles, including as a Digital Advisory Board member at The Very Group and Centrica, as well as senior roles at Silicon Valley Bank, Microsoft Ventures and PwC.

Joined Board

May 2022

Committee membership

Audit Committee
Remuneration Committee
Nominations Committee

Mark McCafferty

Non-executive Director

Key areas of expertise:

Mark was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in February 2020. Mark had previously joined the Board of Redde plc as Non-Executive Director in March 2009, chairing the Remuneration Committee for a large part of his tenure. He brings extensive sector management and commercial experience, having spent six years as CEO of Avis Europe plc.

Current external appointments:

Adviser to CVC Capital Partners, as well as Chairman of the Warwickshire CCC Board and Non-Executive Director of European Professional Club Rugby

Previous experience

Prior to Avis, Mark was Group Managing Director of Thomas Cook’s global travel and foreign exchange business and before that spent seven years with Midland Bank International in corporate finance and international operations. He was CEO of Premiership Rugby until July 2019. Previously held non-executive directorships with HMV Group plc, Umbro plc and Horserace Totalisator Board (Tote).

Joined Board

February 2020

Nicola Rabson

Non-Executive Director

Key areas of expertise:

Nicola was appointed to the Board as a Non-executive Director in November 2022. Nicola is a well-known figure in the employment law world with significant experience advising public companies and other clients on people issues and governance, and on their strategic initiatives such as those relating to diversity and workplace culture.

Current external appointments:

A partner in the London office of Linklaters LLP, a Non-Executive Director at Nxera Pharma, Senior Independent Director at Kent Football Association and a Governor at Royal Russell School.

Previous Experience

Nicola headed up the global employment and incentives practice of Linklaters LLP from 2014 until 2021 and has also sat on Linklaters LLP’s Remuneration Committee and London Executive Committee. Nicola is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales and is a CEDR accredited mediator.

Joined Board

November 2022

Committee membership

Audit Committee
Remuneration Committee
Nominations Committee

Martin Ward

Chief Executive Officer

Key areas of expertise:

Current external appointments:

None.

Previous experience

Joined Board

February 2020

Rachel Coulson

Chief Financial Officer

Key areas of expertise:

Rachel was appointed as CFO in August 2025. She has extensive experience in senior finance roles across a range of sectors worldwide.

Current external appointments:

None.

Previous experience:

Joined Board

August 2025

Harvey Stead

CEO UK&I

Harvey is one of our biggest customer champions and knows just what our customers need, now and in the future. With over 20 years’ experience at FMG, in 2020, Harvey was appointed Managing Director of the claims and management businesses which include FMG, Auxillis, FMG Repair Services and NewLaw. In March 2024 Harvey gained responsibility for all UK&I businesses and in November 2025 was appointed CEO UK&I.

Jorge Alarcon

CEO Northgate Espana

Jorge knows all there is to know about van rental services in Spain, having been the CEO of Northgate Espana since 2019, focussing the business and colleagues on building an ever-evolving array of mobility solutions that are unique to the Spanish marketplace. Jorge draws on over 15 years of experience leading strategy, business development and operations functions for industrial and rental companies as well as almost a decade at a global strategy consultancy.

Katie Tasker-Wood

Chief Strategy Officer

Katie leads on strategic identification and assessment of the opportunities open to the Group, to support our growth aspirations. Understanding market dynamics to drive investment in the key areas of our business, and looking for options to enhance our capabilities, performance, and keeping our customers moving smarter. Katie was previously Corporate Service Director, with strategic and operational oversight for our Group corporate functions, having started at Northgate as General Counsel and Company Secretary in 2016.

Emma Ayton

HR Director

Emma is passionate about organisational culture and effectiveness and leads our people strategy, making sure we invest in the talent and skills our business needs to be successful both now and in the future. Emma joined us as HR Director in April 2024 from Sage, where she spent the last decade in global senior HR roles, having previously led HR and Talent teams at the Co-op and Coca-Cola.

Smiling man with beard and glasses wearing navy blazer and light blue shirt against neutral background

Matt Barton

General Counsel & Company Secretary

Matt has over 20 years’ experience in leading and building legal functions in listed and private companies in both the UK and the Middle East. He has particular expertise in developing and deploying governance systems in large international organisations as well as successfully addressing complex legal challenges with multiple stakeholders.

United Kingdom & Ireland Management Board

Harvey Stead

CEO UK&I

Matt Slater

Fleet Director UK & Ireland

Matt is our go to expert on our fleet. He joined ZIGUP as Fleet Director in June 2025 and is responsible for fleet activities across ZIGUP and its operational businesses across the UK&I. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the automotive industry including having held various roles with Ford Motor Company including heading up both the Rental and National Fleet Sales divisions. In addition, he spent several years as a Sales Director for a Commercial Vehicle Rental Company and consulted for a variety of other rental companies across the industry.

Mel Bebbington

Managing Director, Auxillis

Mel joined the Auxillis business as Managing Director in February 2024. Mel has extensive industry experience having worked as Claims Operations Director and NED within the insurance industry together with senior management roles within the credit hire industry. Mel is passionate about providing exceptional service for existing customers and is passionate about building exceptional teams.

Neil McCrossan

Managing Director, Northgate Mobility

Neil is one of our biggest customer champions and knows just what our customers need, now and in the future. He joined Northgate as the UK Sales & Marketing Director in 2017 and has extensive industry experience including previous roles as CEO of Nexus and Vice President at National and Alamo Rent a Car UK & EMEA. In 2024 Neil was appointed Managing Director of our Northgate UK&I rental businesses.

Paul Wrigglesworth

Managing Director, FMG RS

With 37 years’ experience in the accident repair industry, Paul has worked across a variety of areas from dealership and independent bodyshop groups, to end of lease refurbishment centres. Specialising in operational management, Paul joined FMG Repair Services in 2022 as our Operations Director, being appointed Managing Director in September 2024. Paul brings a wealth of industry knowledge and leadership expertise, driving operational excellence and growth across the business.

Bald man with glasses wearing navy suit and white shirt in bright office setting, looking confidently at camera

Andy Chandler

Managing Director, FMG

As Managing Director, Andy takes responsibility for FMG’s incident management business, drawing on his wealth of knowledge, expertise and influential leadership. Joining FMG in 2015, he was appointed Sales Director in 2019. Andy has been widely instrumental in driving sustainable growth across new and existing markets, positioning FMG as the UK’s leading accident management provider, reflecting his commercial expertise in the fleet, insurance and vehicle recovery sectors.

Emma Ayton

HR Director

Spain Management Board

Jorge Alarcon

CEO Northgate Espana

Roberto Maestro

Chief Financial Officer

Roberto is our numbers expert in Spain. He joined Northgate Spain as CFO in 2021 from DS Smith a leading packaging solutions provider where he led the FP&A function for Southern Europe. Roberto brought extensive experience with him to his current role, having had various financial and strategic planning responsibilities across multinationals including the Uralita Group and URSA, where he was the financial director of its subsidiary in Russia.

Nacho Aliaga

Fleet Director

Smiling bald man in a dark suit and light blue shirt.

Pedro Carrascal

Human Resources Director

Pedro focuses on promoting the personal and professional development of the entire team so that we can provide better service to our clients.

His extensive experience at Northgate gives him a comprehensive vision that is very valuable for this position, and his extensive experience in the HR sector supports him.

José Fuentes

IT & Project Development Director

José is our systems and project expert. Joining Northgate in 2016 he led and defined the commercial and operational strategy of the Northgate Workshops Business Unit, ensuring its implementation. With a career in engineering and consultancy in industrial organisations, José is now responsible for our systems and project development.

Begoña López

Director of Operations and Development

Begoña helps our business grow in Spain. She joined Northgate in 2004, assuming the delivery of our commercial objectives across the north and south zones of the Spanish business in 2008. From 2011, she expanded her remit to include responsibility for the central zone and the Canary Islands, being appointed as Director of Operations and Development of Northgate Spain in August 2022.

Eduardo González de la Rocha

Commercial and Marketing Director

Eduardo is our sales and marketing expert in Spain. He joined Northgate in 2004 as Commercial Director having acquired lots of experience in similar roles for LeasePlan, Wolters Kluwer and AIG Life. Eduardo leads all the commercial divisions, marketing and communications teams in Northgate Spain.