Activate Group appoints Victoria Turner as chief commercial officer

Activate Group has appointed Victoria Turner as its new chief commercial officer as it looks to sharpen its "strategic focus" on growth.

Turner, who joined the business in 2020 as CEO of Activate Accident Repair, will lead the commercial function in addition to her existing role in the repair division.

Hannah Wilcox, the chief executive of Activate Group, said: “We have achieved exceptional growth over the past two years, more than doubling the number of repairs we handle for our customers in the fleet and insurance sectors.

“We are well-placed to continue our impressive growth trajectory and ramping up the commercial function under Victoria’s leadership will give us the strategic focus to achieve our vision of being the transformational leader in accident management.”

Prior to joining Activate Group, Turner held several senior commercial roles across insurance, claims management and repair businesses including commercial and strategy director at Hastings Direct, business development director at Nationwide Crash Repair Centres,head of networks and engineering at LV=Liverpool Victoria (LV) and commercial director at WNS Assistance.

Activate said the commercial function will lead the strategic development of the business’ fleet and insurance divisions, Sopp and Sopp and Motor Repair Network, as well as its wholesale parts and repair specialists, Activate Parts and Activate Accident Repair.

Turner said: “I’m thrilled to work for a fast-growing company that puts people and innovation at the heart of everything it does.

“This is an exciting time for the claims industry, and with our technology-led approach we see a real opportunity to create seamless digital customer journeys, strengthen core services, and broaden our overall offering.”

Turner has already announced three key appointments to the commercial team.

Callum Langan will move from his role as chief customer officer for Activate Group to director of commercial for Sopp and Sopp. Langan will be joined by Hayley Thomas, who is set to start in April as director of commercial for motor repair network.

Thomas comes to Activate Group from the Redde Group where she headed up strategic account management.

Thirdly, Lorna Turner, formerly of Pukka Insure and Action 365, will join the team in her role as head of commercial.

Turner added: “Developing products and services that meet the specific needs of our clients is fundamental to our growth strategy. I look forward to sharing news of further key investments in people and products over the months ahead.”