Close Brothers Motor Finance appoints Rebecca McNeil as CEO

She joined Barclays from GE Capital, where she worked for five years in both business development and asset management.

McNeil has also been chair of UK Finance’s corporate committee, and has also been involved with the government’s Scale-Up Taskforce and the Mayor of London’s business advisory committee.

She replaces previous CEO James Broadhead, who has retired. During her first few months at the business she will be visiting the company’s regional offices as part of its annual Motor Finance roadshows.

McNeil said: “I’m delighted to start this new role at Close Brothers Motor Finance. It’s an amazing opportunity with a company that’s genuinely investing in its people, technology and customer service, and has the support and backing of Close Brothers, a bank that has a proud tradition of lending to customers throughout the economic cycle.

“I admire the unwavering focus on the dealer, and the fact that that ethos is evident in each and every member of the team.

“My experience, coupled with my lifelong love of cars, will stand me in good stead as I hit the ground running. I can’t wait to contribute to the energy and passion that’s already tangible in the company.”

News of the appointment comes a month after the business appointed Jaco Wilsenach as its chief operating officer to support its business transformation programme, as well as leading operational functions.

He will focus on new technologies such as the implementation of Showroom, the proposal system provided by Codeweavers, allowing dealers to quote and propose finance options.

He will also be managing the further development of business capabilities, including enabling customers to get ‘real time’ settlement quotes, while also spearheading a robotics trial to streamline pay-outs to dealers.

Wilsenach began his career as operations manager at Hewlett Packard in South Africa, before moving to Barclays and subsequently Vodafone, where he led sales and customer operations.

More recently, he was transformation director at Virgin Media Business, where he was accountable for the B2B customer experience strategy, all business transformation and change portfolios alongside compliance and quality management.

Wilsenach said: “I’m confident that I can use all of my past experiences to bring new insight to the operational and change needs of the business and I look forward to working closely with the talented team here.”

Close Brothers Motor Finance was formed in 1988 and marked its 30th anniversary this year by rewarding all employees with an extra day off.

It works with 8,000 motor dealers and has helped to finance loans worth nearly £7 billion against almost one million vehicles.