Drive Motor Retail has promoted Emily Mead to marketing director as the company continues pursuing its growth plans.

Mead moves to her new role from her previous marketing manager position, which she has held since joining Drive in July 2021. She will become Drive’s first female director.

She has more than 10 years of experience in marketing and events management and has been involved in several large-scale strategic projects over the past two years.

She most recently oversaw the rebrand of Drive’s used car offering, DriveDirect, from a concept to reality in late 2022. She has also been involved in Drive’s transition from being a solus Vauxhall dealer group to a multi-franchised business.

Rob Keenan, joint managing director at Drive Motor Retail, said: “The last two years have not been without their challenges and the word ‘restructure’ often has negative connotations, but at Drive we are looking to focus on areas which help the business to grow such as digital, marketing and employee engagement.

“As our company continues to expand, it is vital that we meet the needs of our customers and present integrated marketing strategies whilst developing relationships with the best partners. We are very comfortable that Emily is best placed to deliver on those goals.

“I would like to congratulate her on the fantastic job she has done so far, and I look forward to working with her on the exciting projects we have in the pipeline.”

The AM100 group has recently appointed former Eden Motor Group operations director Mark Clifton and promoted Chris Blake to the post of group finance and sales compliance manager.