Holding board

Lord Stuart Rose

Chairman

Stuart has over 40 years experience in the consumer and retail sectors, during which time he has served as chief executive at Argos plc, Booker plc, Arcadia Group plc and Marks & Spencer plc and Chairman of Ocado between 2012 and 2021. Alongside chairing Zenith, he is also chair of EG Group and Asda. He was knighted in 2008 for services to the retail industry and corporate social responsibility, and was appointed to the House of Lords in 2014.

Tim Buchan

Chief Executive Officer

Tim manages the Group’s corporate strategy and culture, and is responsible for directing its proposition, leadership team, and new business growth. Following roles with multi-franchise dealerships, Avis Assistance, and LeasePlan, Tim started his career with Zenith as sales and marketing director in 2005, becoming Group Operations Director, and then CEO in 2010. Tim also sits on the committee of management for the British Vehicle and Rental Lease Association (BVRLA) which supports the overall interests of the UK leasing and rental sector.

Mark Phillips

Chief Financial Officer

Mark has overall responsibility for the finance functions of the Group. He also leads the Group’s risk management, treasury, and legal and compliance teams. Before joining Zenith in 1998, Mark was the group financial controller at Holliday Chemical Holdings plc and an audit manager with Andersen. Mark holds a BA (Hons) in economics from Newcastle University and is an ICAEW chartered accountant.

Emma Watford

Investor and Bridgepoint Director

Emma is a partner at Bridgepoint, co-head of Bridgepoint Europe investment activities in the UK, and co-chair of the Bridgepoint diversity and inclusion committee. She also sits on the board of Inspired Thinking Group and Hobbycraft. Emma is a member of the UK Takeover Panel and sits on the advisory council of Level 20, a not-for-profit organisation aligned around a common vision of improving gender diversity in the private equity industry. She holds a first class degree in chemistry from Oxford University and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School where she was a Fulbright Scholar.

Guy Weldon

Investor and Bridgepoint Director

Guy is group managing partner and head of investment activities at Bridgepoint. He is a member of the Bridgepoint executive committee and the investment advisory committee, chairman of Bridgepoint Credit and chairman of Bridgepoint in North America. Guy has worked extensively on private equity transactions across Europe, particularly in the consumer sector. He holds a degree in history from Durham University.

Manisha Patel

Assistant General Counsel and Group Secretary

Manisha joined Zenith in 2012. Prior to joining the Group Manisha completed her training at DLA Piper and then moved to Pinsent Masons on qualification. While at Pinsent Masons, Manisha was seconded to Speedy Hire plc and Synthomer plc. She earned her LLB in Law and German with honours from the University of Hull and completed the legal practice course at the University of Sheffield.

Leadership board

Ian Hughes

CEO – Corporate Division 

Ian is responsible for the Group’s Corporate division, including in-life operations, accident management, customer services, new customer acquisition and existing relationship management along with the LCV proposition. He has worked with Zenith for over a decade, having joined as Commercial Director in 2010. Prior to Zenith, Ian has held a wide range of roles within Budget Rent-a-Car from 1991 to 1998, Honda from 1998 to 2005, and Citroën from 2005 to 2010.

Martin Jenkins

Commercial Division and Group Strategy Director 

Martin is responsible for the Group’s Commercial division and for Group Strategy, including mergers and acquisitions. He joined Zenith after a 28-year career with Deloitte where he was a corporate finance partner for 17 years and latterly 8 years as practice senior partner for the Yorkshire and North East region. Whilst with Deloitte Martin focused on M&A and strategic advisory projects in the leasing and automotive services industry and worked as an advisor to Zenith for over 15 years before joining the business in January 2018. He holds a BA in human geography and economics from London University, Queen Mary College, and is a chartered accountant and fellow of the ICAEW.

Andrew Kirby

CEO – Rental Services

Andrew is responsible for the Group’s rental team. Prior to joining Zenith in 2013 he worked in the fleet industry at Director level for over 15 years, in roles including sales and marketing, customer relationships, customer services and operations, employee schemes, strategic development, merger integrations and change management. He holds an MBA from the Cranfield School of Management and a Sloan Fellowship MSc from the London Business School.

Ian Gibson

Chief Information Officer

Ian devises and delivers the strategy for technology, systems and information services and also leads business change and transformation across the Group with specialism in acquisition separation and integration. Ian joined the Group in 2015, has over 20 years’ experience in the industry and has held various Board level roles across technology, transformation, operations and finance in different sectors having had an earlier career as a Management Consultant and Accountant. Ian is a management graduate of the University of Bradford and an ICAEW chartered accountant.

Stuart Price

Chief People Officer

Stuart leads the people team and is responsible for delivering the people strategy, and creating a culture that attracts, develops and retains an engaged and high-performing workforce. He brings experience in leading mergers and acquisitions, organisational design and change, culture and performance improvement, and leadership development. Before joining Zenith in January 2021, he worked in the food, retail and healthcare sectors. Stuart attended the University of Southampton and holds a post-graduate certificate in business and executive coaching and psychology from Leeds Beckett University.

James Edwards

Group General Counsel

James leads the Group’s legal and compliance teams and company Secretariat. As a member of the Leadership Board and other key working committees, he provides strategic direction from a legal and regulatory perspective. Before joining Zenith in 2016 he worked at HSBC (including a one-year secondment in the United States) and at the Kelda Group. He holds an LLB from the University of Hull and has completed a legal practice course at the York College of Law.