John Leigh, senior vice president of Vanguard Car Rental, has accepted the position of chairman of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association.

Previously vice-chairman, Leigh will hold his new post for two years and during this time will be responsible for directing the strategy of the BVRLA.

Leigh says: “Although it is a non-executive role it will involve commitment and hard work but I am relishing the forthcoming challenge. I believe that this challenge involves making the two sides of our industry - vehicle leasing and vehicle rental - even more customer and service focussed. I think that companies in the industry need to take a non-competitive perspective in order to further improve the customer experience and that the BVRLA forms the perfect catalyst for this.

"And of course, we will need to continue to move the agenda on. This industry does not stand still, nor will we at the BVRLA. There will undoubtedly be fresh challenges to meet and I am sure that with my Committee colleagues and the staff at the BVRLA Executive at Amersham, under the direction of John Lewis, we will be able to meet future challenges in the same, effective way, that the association has done in the past."