In this episode we are celebrating the career to date of Paul Kirby.

Paul is well known in the UK van world as "the Electric Van man" and as a member of The EV Café team.

In our conversation we talk about his rocky start in life, and his career journey from his first job with a library suppliers as a warehouse person and van driver to his current position.

I'm grateful to Paul for sharing his experiences as openly as he does. His approach to our conversation makes the story of his life and career journey all the more inspiring.

As always, I look forward to hearing what resonates with you.

Connect with Paul:

LinkedIn Profile

YouTube: @Electric Van Man

Websites:

The EV Café

EV Essentials

About Andy

I'm an experienced business leader and a passionate developer of people in the automotive finance industry, internationally.

During over twenty five years, I have played a key role in developing businesses including Alphabet UK, BMW Corporate Finance UK, BMW Financial Services Singapore, BMW Financial Services New Zealand and Tesla Financial Services UK.

At the same time, I have coached individuals and delivered leadership development programmes in 17 countries across Asia, Europe and North America.

I started Aquilae in 2016 to enable “Fulfilling Performance” in the mobility industry, internationally.

Learn more about Fulfilling Performance

Check out Release the handbrake! The Fulfilling Performance Hub.

Connect with Andy

LinkedIn: Andy Follows
Email: cvm@aquilae.co.uk

Join a guided peer mentoring team: Aquilae Academy

Thank you to our sponsors:

ASKE Consulting
Email: hello@askeconsulting.co.uk

Aquilae
Email: cvm@aquilae.co.uk

Episode Directory on Instagram @careerviewmirror

If you enjoy listening to our guests career stories, please follow CAREER-VIEW MIRROR in your podcast app.

Episode recorded on 20 September, 2024.

In this episode we are celebrating the career to date of Alexandra Smedley.

Alexandra’s most recent role was Customer Care and Aftersales Director, Europe for General Motors based in Zurich, Switzerland.

After an accomplished tenure with General Motors that took her to five distinct locations within and outside of the US, she’s says it’s time to pause and reflect.

The desire to be rooted in community has led her to the decision to stay in Switzerland as she looks to enter the next chapter of her professional career.

With ten years experience managing the complexities of the automotive industry and her innate ability to adapt to new environments and challenges, she is looking toward new horizons and hoping to gain new opportunities, maybe even beyond automotive.

In our conversation Alex shares that she was a good student who initially aspired to a medical career.

She found a way to use her problem solving skills in a medical device startup until a family friend suggested General Motors were hiring.

A school trip to Europe had shown her she liked to travel and so GM’s requirement for candidates to be prepared to go wherever they said was an attraction rather than a drawback.

Alex learned how to influence people at dealerships and back at Head Quarters until one of her managers took her with him into the Aftersales business.

She took ownership of the opportunity to manage the Autozone account and achieved success growing the value of that relationship.

She brought senior leaders of both businesses together to recognise the value of the partnership. That initiative got her recognised and won her a new mentor.

When the time was right, she pushed for an international opportunity and landed an amazing experience in Shanghai in a joint venture with mostly Chinese colleagues.

After a brief spell back in Michigan, Alex was excited to join GM’s re entry to Europe which was like being in a start up within a big corporation. Once again she got to deploy and develop her skills to set up an aftersales function from scratch.

I loved getting to know Alex and hearing her story. I hope that the insights she shares can help you or someone you lead and care about. Maybe this interview can unlock some new relationships and opportunities for Alex in Switzerland!

As always, I look forward to hearing what resonates with you.

Connect with Alexandra:

LinkedIn Profile

About Andy

I'm an experienced business leader and a passionate developer of people in the automotive finance industry, internationally.

During over twenty five years, I have played a key role in developing businesses including Alphabet UK, BMW Corporate Finance UK, BMW Financial Services Singapore, BMW Financial Services New Zealand and Tesla Financial Services UK.

At the same time, I have coached individuals and delivered leadership development programmes in 17 countries across Asia, Europe and North America.

I started Aquilae in 2016 to enable “Fulfilling Performance” in the mobility industry, internationally.

Learn more about Fulfilling Performance

Check out Release the handbrake! The Fulfilling Performance Hub.

Connect with Andy

LinkedIn: Andy Follows
Email: cvm@aquilae.co.uk

Join a guided peer mentoring team: Aquilae Academy

Thank you to our sponsors:

ASKE Consulting
Email: hello@askeconsulting.co.uk

Aquilae
Email: cvm@aquilae.co.uk

Episode Directory on Instagram

In this episode I'm joined by Colin Tomlinson.

Colin owns a learning and development company specialising in teaching Project Leadership and Management in the Civil Engineering and Construction industry. He uses techniques adapted from his 24 years career as an Officer in the Royal Engineers and his 12 years of experience within the industry to help navigate through the complexities of working on projects. He has recently completed two legs of The Clipper Race sailing almost 15,000 miles from Australia to Seattle via Vietnam and China.

When he and I talked about his recent sailing adventure I found myself fascinated by why he’d decided to do it, how he went about it, what was the impact on his business and family, what was the experience really like and what did he take from it that has remained with him now he’s back at home and back in his business.

Colin kindly agreed to join me to create this episode and answer all my questions. In doing so he shares how instead of pausing his business to go sailing, the trip has been a catalyst to help him scale it. Perhaps less surprising were the numerous leadership lessons that emerge from the concentrated team environment of an ocean racing yacht.

I’m excited to invite you to join Colin and me as he takes us behind the scenes of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, the only event of its type in the world where anyone, even if they’ve never stepped on a boat before, can join the adventure.

Contact Colin:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colintomlinson/
Clipper Round the World

About Andy

I'm an experienced business leader and a passionate developer of people in the automotive finance industry, internationally.

During over twenty years, I have played a key role in developing businesses including Alphabet UK, BMW Corporate Finance UK, BMW Financial Services Singapore, BMW Financial Services New Zealand and Tesla Financial Services UK.

At the same time, I have coached individuals and delivered leadership development programmes in 17 countries across Asia, Europe and North America.

I started Aquilae in 2016 to enable “Fulfilling Performance” in the mobility industry, internationally.

Learn more about Fulfilling Performance

Check out Release the handbrake! The Fulfilling Performance Hub.

Connect with Andy

LinkedIn: Andy Follows
Email: cvm@aquilae.co.uk

Join a guided peer mentoring team: Aquilae Academy

Thank you to our sponsors:

ASKE Consulting
Email: hello@askeconsulting.co.uk

Aquilae
Email: cvm@aquilae.co.uk

Episode Directory on Instagram @careerviewmirror

If you enjoy listening to our guests career stories, please follow CAREER-VIEW MIRROR in your podcast app.

Episode recorded on 11 September, 2024.