Stellantis & You appoints Richard Garbutt as next chief executive

Richard Garbutt has been appointed chief executive of Stellantis & You UK, replacing Angela Shepherd who is leaving the AM100 dealer group, which used to be known as Robins & Day.

Shepherd has been with the group for only a year. She joined in June 2023 after four years heading Mercedes-Benz Retail Group, which was broken up by acquisitions by Hedin Mobility, LSH Auto UK and Sandown Motors.

Garbutt is promoted from his current role of sales director, where he has been in position since 2016 overseeing new, used and fleet operations.

Having held a number of senior management roles, Garbutt has experienced the group’s expansion to include Citroën Retail Group and Go Vauxhall, and more recently Fiat and Abarth.

The group said he has also been instrumental in the digitalisation of its systems to improve used car performance and profitability.

Following his degree studies, Garbutt joined Peugeot in 1994 spending time in sales, aftersales and franchising roles.

In 2005 he made the move into retail with Robins & Day, starting as sales manager, before then acquiring experience and progressing in a variety of roles, including branch manage and general manager.

Garbutt moved into a regional manager role with responsibility for London and Scotland, witnessing the changing shape of automotive first hand, shifts in customer purchase requirements, experience and a more recent move to electric and hybrid vehicles.

This experience will prove valuable as Stellantis & You, Sales and Services, continues its multi-franchise expansion plans and focus on customer experience. Following the recent launch of Fiat and Abarth at the West London site and Vauxhall in Selly Oak, Birmingham, a new six-brand showroom is also set to open in Bristol in the summer, which will see the Alfa Romeo and Jeep brands added to Stellantis &You UK’s portfolio.

Stellantis &You UK recently celebrated the first anniversary of its name change and currently has 24 Peugeot, 17 Citroën, five DS, five Vauxhall, three Fiat and three Abarth new car franchise retailers and seven Distrigo hubs in 34 locations across the UK.

Garbutt said: "Having been a part of the group for almost 20 years’ I’ve seen the group and our teams and people evolve, and I’m passionate about the success of both. We know the challenges of such a dynamic market, but more importantly the opportunities, I look forward to working with the whole team to create success together.”