Former Audi UK sales manager one of two VWFS board appointments

By Tom Sharpe

7 May 2021

Former Audi UK sales manager Matt Solven and Dan James have been appointed to the board of Volkswagen Financial Services UK (VWFS).

Solven, now the risk and controlling director at the German OEM’s UK finance division, and marketing director and chief digital officer James, have been appointed as part of effort to accelerate towards a digital future, VWFS said.

VWFS chief executive, Mike Todd, said: “I’m thrilled to be welcoming Dan and Matt to the board of management and I believe their appointment is a perfect endorsement of the way that our business develops talent and showcases the opportunity for people to progress within the organisation.

“I’m really looking forward to working more closely with both colleagues as we continue our journey towards becoming a trend-setting digital operation that puts the customer at the heart of everything we do.”

James joined VWFS in 2007 and has held various commercial roles in the business, orchestrating the business’ transition to a Commercial Product team approach which enabled the delivery of new products, services and innovation for consumers.

In his new role on the board of management, he VWFS said that he will be responsible for “managing our overall customer proposition and marketing approach, determining the future customer experience in a more digital business, as well as ensuring that digital transformation has a critical focus at board level”.

Solven started his career at VWFS as an undergraduate while studying for an accounting and finance degree.

He returned to VWFS in 2005 and has since spent three-years as Audi international brand manager and UK Sales Manager role, based in the brand’s factory in Ingolstadt.

Solven returned to the UK in 2015 to take up a brand management role before becoming business performance director in 2020.

In his new role, Solven will oversee an enterprise-wide view of VWFS profitability and planning, resulting in greater efficiency, transparency and streamlining complex processes, VWFS said.