Stellantis UK mourns sudden death of aftersales chief Mark Pickles

Stellantis has confirmed the sudden death of its parts and service director Mark Pickles.

Staff at the Coventry headquarters of Stellantis UK were told yesterday that the aftersales expert had sadly died unexpectedly at the weekend.

The news has led to a flood of tributes from fellow motor industry executives. Among the dozens of tributes paid on the Stellantis UK announcement on LinkedIn, former Groupe PSA veteran Jonathan Goodman described Pickles as a "larger than life character, talented and always kind, who has been appreciated and liked by everyone who came into contact with him", and former Peugeot network director David March said he was "a lovely genuine man" who would be remembered fondly by all that knew him.

Pickles' distinguished career began in dealerships. He spent five years at Hartwell culminating as a dealership aftersales manager before he joined Groupe PSA in 2000 as an area aftersales manager and began climbing the career ladder.

In more than 20 years with PSA and Stellantis he held various senior roles including managing director of leasing division Free2Move, parts and service director for Peugeot UK, and group aftersales operations director, overseeing the consolidation of the Groupe PSA brands' aftersales functions.

In 2021, he became parts and service director for Stellantis, a role that marked the culmination of his extensive career in the automotive industry.

Maria Grazia Davino, Stellantis UK group managing director, paid tribute to his leadership and legacy, stating: “Mark’s role in the company was far beyond his functional responsibilities. With such a wide experience, he brought a broader perspective to the business and to the wider industry and was held in high esteem by me and his colleagues, both within the company and his peers outside."

Davino also highlighted her colleague's dedication to mentoring: “He was a strong advocate of fostering new talent and was extremely generous with his time and experience to mentor new colleagues.”

“His passing leaves a great gap in the hearts and minds of all of us here in Stellantis. All in the company send their deepest sympathies to his wife and his family at this extremely sad time.”