Toyota GB boss becomes a patron of the Automotive 30% Club

Agustín Martín, president and managing director of Toyota GB, has become a patron of the Automotive 30% Club.

The Japanese car maker has also renewed its sponsorship of the organisation’s e-zine and Super-Network for a fourth consecutive year.

Martín said: “The Automotive 30% Club gives us a collective opportunity to learn from each other and showcase best practice so we can attract, grow and retain talent that will be key to our future.

“We need new ideas and thinking to stay ahead and deliver exceptional customer experiences, so it’s more important than ever that we have a diverse mix of people in the industry.

“Women should aspire to leadership positions; seeing other women who have achieved this can give them the inspiration to succeed themselves. This where the Inspiring e-zine can play its part, sharing inspirational stories from real people in our industry. It’s also about creating super network of women and men who can learn from each other.”

He continued Toyota GB’s commitment to the club, since he took over from Paul Van der Burgh, in 2020. Van der Burgh was one of the founding members of the Automotive 30% Club.

The Automotive 30% Club is a voluntary network of MDs and CEOs from UK based automotive manufacturing, retailing and supplier companies, which aims to achieve a better gender balance by filling at least 30% of key leadership positions in the member organisations with diverse women by 2030, through a “30 by 30” strategy which has four phases; Reach Out – to attract more women, Welcome In – to remove bias in recruitment, Pull Through – to pull women through the promotional pipeline, Hold On – to retain talented women.

It was founded by Julia Muir, CEO of Gaia Innovation, in 2019, and has attracted membership from a wide range of manufacturers and dealer groups.

Muir added: “I am extremely pleased that Agustín Martin has stepped forward to become a patron of the club this year. He has overseen significant improvements in female representation since he became president and MD at Toyota (GB), and, along with Paula Cooper, Toyota’s director Consumer One, he is also encouraging the Automotive 30% Club members within the Toyota retailer network.

“Toyota has sponsored our Inspiring e-zine and Super Network since they were launched, and I am grateful that Agustín and the team are such fabulous advocates and supporters of the club and our activities.”