James Pestell has been elected as the new joint vice chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).
He was selected at the organisation’s annual general meeting, held at the NEC, Birmingham on Tuesday 6 October.
National sales manager at IFC Group, James has more than two decades of experience in the fleet industry, and first joined the Association of Car Fleet Operators – a predecessor organisation of the AFP – in 2016.
James holds the vice chair title on a shared basis with Lorna McAtear, head of fleet at National Grid, and is the successor to Matt Hammond, who has held the position since 2023.
He said, ‘I would like to thank the board for electing me to this role. It is a real honour. I strongly believe in our ability to support fleet managers as individuals and promote the fleet industry as a whole.
‘Every day, I see first hand the good work that is carried out by the organisation and am deeply pleased to have this opportunity to use my experience to help the AFP progress further over the coming years.’
James has an especial interest in fleet use of artificial intelligence (AI), having created the AFP’s recent AI white paper.
He said, ‘I believe there is huge potential for positive use of AI within fleets and it is an area that I would very much like to promote while joint vice chair.’
Paul Hollick, chair at the AFP, said: ‘We are delighted James has been elected to this role. He has been a very active AFP board member since its inception and proven himself a valuable asset to the organisation with his knowledge, support and enthusiasm.
‘It is also important that we acknowledge and thank Matt Hammond, now stepping down from the role. He has made a significant contribution to the AFP while deputy chair. We are grateful for his involvement and pleased to see him continue as a key member of our board.’