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Autocar Drivers of Change is a new initiative championing diverse talent in the automotive industry.
A sibling event to Autocar’s Great Women initiative and held in association with Ennis & Co and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), these awards celebrate the automotive industry as a place that welcomes everybody.
Autocar Drivers of Change winners will be individuals who are driving change and promoting diversity in their business in whichever role they perform. Judges will be looking for entries that can demonstrate the adoption of diversity of background, experience and thought in their business
Winners will be named in nine categories but anyone appearing on our shortlist of around 100 individuals will be able to call themselves an Autocar Driver of Change. They will all be celebrated at a special event hosted at the SMMT’s London headquarters on February 6 2025.
The top candidates will be selected from the following areas of the car industry: Marketing; Manufacturing; Operations; PR and communications; Purchasing; Retail; Sales; Talent; Vehicle development.
Individuals can put themselves forward for consideration, or can be nominated by friends, colleagues and employers. The awards are open to all working in the British car industry, or Britons working abroad.
Please look far and wide within your organisation for individuals to nominate - we’re encouraging people to think outside of their immediate team for people deserving of an award.
Those nominating will need to supply evidence of the nominee’s business and/or industry impact. There is no limit on the number of nominations submitted by a company
Open to anyone who holds a PR or communications role for an OEM, supplier or retailer. You must be able to demonstrate that your input makes a difference to the way that your brand is perceived by customers, your direct community and internal stakeholders (or other areas, as appropriate).
Open to anyone working in retail sales, aftersales and workshops, but we will accept entries from other areas of the retail industry. The scale of the operation you work in is not as important as your ability to demonstrate going above and beyond in helping and assisting all customers.
Open to anyone who has helped move the game on by being part of a new inclusive system or policy and can demonstrate the impact of it, be that within a small business or a multinational entity; or who has developed and implemented successful programmes to address skill gaps in their organisation. It is not aimed solely at HR professionals and is open to anyone who works in automotive.
This will be awarded to the business which, based on entries submitted to the individual Drivers of Change awards, the judges feel is making the greatest overall contribution to driving change in the automotive industry.
It is not possible to enter this category and will be decided solely by the judges.
In memory of Bunny Ennis, the father of Ennis & Co founder Lynda Ennis, this award will recognise an individual who has displayed dedication to driving change within their chosen field. There will be a prize fund available for the winner to spend on career enhancing training or experience.
Ennis & Co are trusted by many of the world’s leading automotive brands to appoint their senior leaders.
We carry out executive search assignments for organisations across the entire automotive spectrum, ranging from manufacturers to national sales companies (high-volume through to prestige and luxury brands), as well as supply chain, retail, leasing/mobility providers, data analytics organisations and innovative technology companies.
We work with clients in the UK and globally. Over the past two years, 78% of our assignments have been for roles based outside the UK.
Typically, we recruit Board Directors, CEOs and their direct reports, including business and functional heads.
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Our team has decades of experience not only in recruitment and executive search but at senior levels of the automotive industry, giving us a profound and holistic understanding of the needs of our clients and the industry as a whole.