Oodle announces new leadership line-up

Motor finance company, Oodle, has announced changes to its leadership team, including the appointment of Richard Gaskin as chief executive designate.

Gaskin has experience in the automotive, technology and financial services sectors across a range of CEO and senior management roles, the company said. 

Most recently, Gaskin has spent three years as chief operating officer of Ocorian, a global fiduciary and fund administration business, and previously, he spent seven years as CEO of Bank BPH in Poland.

He has also served in UK leadership positions in automotive finance, including as managing director of GE Capital UK (Auto) and CEO of Ford Motor Credit (Republic of Ireland).

Jonny Clayton, founder of Oodle, said: “I believe that now is the right time to hand over the executive leadership to Richard; he brings incredible experience and pedigree in growing and running financial services businesses, which will realise the full potential of what we’ve built to date.

“I’m excited at the opportunity to develop a powerful partnership with Richard to deliver on our vision and strategy with executional excellence.”

Clayton will remain on the Board of Oodle as a non-executive director and will work with the Board and Gaskin to advise and support them on Oodle’s vision, strategy, growth opportunities, partnerships and brand profile, the company said.

To support the transition, Clayton will remain as CEO for a three-month period as the regulatory approval process for his successor concludes.

Phillip Williams, co-founder and managing director of Oodle, said: “This is an exciting moment in Oodle’s story, and I’m delighted to welcome Richard to the team.

“He brings incredible experience from the finance and automotive sectors, and I’m looking forward to working with he and Jonny to further accelerate and scale Oodle’s growth.

“We already provide a fantastic offer to our trusted network of dealers and to UK car buyers; adding Richard’s experience and energy to our leadership team will only serve to strengthen our proposition as the market continues to evolve.”

In March, Oodle announced the appointment of Paul Woodhead as new head of group aftercare.

The appointment follows after used car retailers have been urged to focus on accelerating their electric vehicle (EV) stock holding to around 10% of their forecourts in a bid to embrace an inevitable rise in demand for pre-owned EVs.