Autotech Group has appointed Laurence Abbott as managing director of its Autotech Connect division, along with Darren Dowling as client services director.

Moving from his original position of group marketing & technology director, Laurence has also become Autotech Group’s chief technology officer, joining the company’s group leadership team.

In his new position as managing director, Laurence is charged with spearheading new partnerships and opportunities to help the aftermarket implement technology into their businesses to cover skills gaps and mitigate cybercrime.

Darren Dowling brings a wealth of automotive aftermarket experience to his new role, particularly within the commercial fleet sector.

The Autotech Connect team will also be boosted later this year with further as the division scales up.

“Autotech Connect is entering a phase of growth,” said managing director Laurence Abbott. “Since its initial launch last year, the team has been building partnerships with technological specialists and leveraging their expertise to create solutions to help aftermarket businesses run as effectively as possible while helping them build a robust digital infrastructure.

This work has enabled us to build successful proof points following a series of trials. Now, with the support of Darren and the growing Autotech Connect team, I am looking forward to sharing this amongst the wider sector and demonstrating to them how, by effectively harnessing technology and Assisted Reality, they can overcome skills shortages and run more efficiently as a business.”