International Women's Day At Bristol Street Motors: Meet The #VertuGirlGang Pt 1
Bristol Street Motors is part of one of the biggest automotive retailers in the UK, Vertu Motors, and in light of International Women’s Day, we want to celebrate all of the incredible women who contribute to making this company a success.
Stereotypically, the automotive industry has been very male-dominated, but throughout history, there have been an array of influential women leaving their mark within the sector, and here at Vertu Motors, we have our very own female tribe who are carrying on the legacy.
Vertu Motors is fuelled by girl power, and we’re going to introduce to you some of the women who are part of our #VertuGirlGang!
From social queens keeping you up to date with the latest car news to female general managers bossing it within the dealerships - including Debbie Dankowycz, who was named 'Tom Fairgrieve Company Person of the Year' last week - our #VertuGirlGang is full of the most talented, hard-working and inspirational women.
For those women and girls who are wanting to pursue a career in the automotive industry, here’s a little insight into some of the roles that you could get into! For everybody else, here are some of the empowering female faces behind the success of Vertu Motors.
LIZ COPE – Chief Marketing Officer
What better way to start off our #IWD2020 article than with one of the leading ladies at the company?
Liz Cope is the Chief Marketing Officer at Vertu Motors and is a fantastic leader to aspire to.
“I joined Vertu Motors as Chief Marketing Officer in 2016, after previously working with brands such as Orange, Yahoo, Peroni, Dyson and VAX. You’d be surprised how many similarities there are between marketing vehicles, beer and vacuums!
My role here is to oversee all the marketing functions, including; Advertising, Events and Websites – as well as the operation of our contact centres.
Being able to bring the customer’s view into the heart of the boardroom is one of my favourite parts of the role, and I’m very proud to be part of a business that values the views of its customers.”
EMMA RUSSELL – Assistant Retail Marketing Manager
Emma has been with Vertu Motors since 2018, and is originally from the UK’s Motor City, Coventry! You could say, she’s always had oil in her blood!
"My dad's family moved down to the Midlands from Newcastle to work in the growing motor industry when companies like Jaguar, Rover, Chrysler, Triumph Motorcycles and LTI were opening their doors. My mum was a PA at Chrysler for many years. My sisters worked at LTI and JLR. I even used to live on the estate built on the old Triumph Factory site.
I started my automotive journey working in a digital agency launching a face-lift on Land Rover's websites. Then I moved agencies to work on Bentley Middle East, the NEC’s Autosport International and, eventually, a superyacht brand (still motors, guys)! Things came full circle when I joined the team at Vertu Motors in 2018 and finally took the plunge in making Newcastle my home full-time the following year.
I've always been a part-time petrol head. My dream car, depending on which day you ask, would be a G Class or a vintage Mustang. Here's me unashamedly posing with James Hunt's McLaren at a Jardine Motors event.”
JOANNE ELLISON – Business Development Director
Next, we have our wonderful Bristol Street Versa women, led by Joanne Ellison, who work in Batley, near Leeds.
“As a manufacturer and supplier of wheelchair accessible vehicles to customers all around the UK, we are one of the more unique businesses in the Group, and unique also as we’re one of the few businesses headed up by a woman (me!)
The photo above shows our Accounts Team, Customer Service Team, Production Planner and General Manager. Between us, we have over 60 years working in the motor trade!”
LESLEY THORNBURN – Digital Product Marketing Manager
Next up is our Digital Product Marketing Manager, Lesley Thornburn, whose personality is the heart and soul of the #VertuGirlGang!
“I like to live in the fast lane, albeit travelling around the world, working at a million mph or driving up and down the a19 every day (just in the outside lane, not speeding).
I was late to the party in marketing, and even more so digital, as my career started off working in finance for a national corporate company where I fell in love with the idea of communicating to the customer, before starting my first “real” marketing role in the automotive industry after graduating uni with a first-class honours. It was there I found my mentor, a powerful, energetic female marketing director who told me I could!
So, I did!
I joined Vertu 3.5 years ago and I am on my 4th role to date, progressively growing, learning and adapting! It’s the best part! I currently work as a Digital Product Marketing Manager involving things such as e-commerce and buy it now, along with supporting paid search marketing and attribution projects. It’s always all hands on deck, no day is ever the same.
The biggest success in my career so far is the junior members of the Vertu Central Marketing Team (grads/apprentices/execs) and seeing them grow! Supporting and teaching them things that took me years to learn is the most rewarding feeling - telling them “they can” and seeing them do it makes it all worthwhile! We have an amazing team and I’m proud to be a part of it!”
LAUREN PAUL – Marketing Graduate
Lauren is one of our Marketing Graduates who is a little ray of sunshine, bringing the positive vibes to the office every day!
“My name’s Lauren and I’m one of three Marketing Graduates at Vertu. The one thing I love the most about my job is the diversity, and as graduates, we are lucky enough to rotate around the department. My role has seen me working on recruitment in our contact centre, helping orchestrate the ‘Upside Down’ campaign, and organising new model launches for Ford, Nissan and Renault so far – all in the space of 18 months. Some people may think it’s just about selling cars but there’s so much more going on behind the scenes, and I feel privileged to be a part of the magic!”
LEVINA BASRA – Marketing Graduate
Levina is another member of the grad gang, who is regularly seen being papped with the A-Listers!
“Hey, I’m Levina, one of the Marketing Grads at Vertu Motors. I am currently working in my product placement but have carried out placements in digital, third parties, social and PR.
The great thing about the Marketing Department at Vertu is being surrounded by lots of strong, powerful women.
My top achievement within my grad role has been being responsible for the Bristol Street Motors partnership with the PFA. You may have recently seen me [cropped out] of Marcus Rashford’s Instagram post, so here is the full photo for you all to see.
My next claim to fame will hit your TV screens soon, so keep an eye out for the best Bristol Street Motors advert you will ever see!”
NAOMI CARPENTER – Third Party Marketing Executive
There ain’t no party like an S Club THIRD Party, and our beautiful Naomi (pictured on the left) makes sure the third party keeps on going!
“My Vertu journey started in 2017 splitting my time between helping to roll out 127 dealership pages to our GMs and PR responsibilities.
Fast forward to 2020 and I now maintain our relationships with all third parties in the Marketing Department, driving our enquiries and ensuring we optimise our ROI.
An empowering motivator within our marketing team is the presence of strong female leadership from the likes of Lesley Thornburn and Liz Cope.
I love that the landscape of the automotive industry is changing to become more inclusive of women not only within the corporations themselves but also in how we communicate with our customer base and how we perceive the average car buyer.”
This is just the first snippet of some of the amazing women who make up the #VertuGirlGang!
Click the button below to meet more members of Vertu’s GRL PWR gang!