The UK’s Automotive 30% Club has revealed its Inspiring Automotive Women of 2025.
More than 20 female workers in the motor retail industry have been celebrated in this year’s IAW awards, in roles ranging from vehicle technician and journalist to sales director and head of HR.
“These outstanding women have made a remarkable impact in the automotive sector,” said Automotive 30% Club founder Julia Muir.
The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) is the partner sponsor of the Automotive 30% Club, which has the aim of encouraging organisations to fill at least 30% of key leadership positions with diverse women by 2030 through a “30 by 30” strategy, and the Inspiring Automotive Women were celebrated at a reception ahead of the IMI Dinner this week.
During the IMI Dinner, the overall winner of the title Inspiring Automotive Woman 2025 was revealed to be Catherine Faiers (pictured), chief operating officer of Auto Trader.
Muir said: “Catherine truly embodies what it is to be an Inspiring Automotive Woman. She promotes her company as an employer of choice for women, creates solutions to help women thrive in the workplace, and raises awareness of intersectionality and underrepresented female groups. She takes part in inclusion networks, mentors and coaches female colleagues, is an inspirational female role model, and an outstanding trailblazer.
“If that wasn’t enough, this amazing woman is a senior executive driving positive change not only in her own company, but also across the automotive sector and in wider business and society. I would like to say a personal thank you to Catherine for her unwavering commitment to the Automotive 30% Club’s purpose of building high performing gender-balanced teams from all possible talent pools.”
Faiers joined Auto Trader in 2017 after working in other sectors, and became its COO in 2019. A patron of the Automotive 30% Club, she is passionate about social mobility, inclusion and gender balance.
She is the executive sponsor for Auto Trader’s ethnicity network and provides mentoring and sponsorship for women, especially those who have an intersectional characteristic – multiple forms of inequality or disadvantage – that creates barriers to their career progression.
She volunteers with the Social Mobility Foundation, mentoring young women from East London, and is a business mentor with the Cherie Blair Foundation For Women. She recently started investing in female founders through a women’s angel investor network, to tackle the issue that only 3% of venture capital (VC) funding goes to women.
Last year Faiers headed a new initiative called Great Events for All to ensure that industry events are safe and inclusive for everybody, leading to work to educate the industry on sexual harassment and consent.
AM100 franchised dealer groups were well represented in the IAW winners, with Arnold Clark Automobiles, JCT600, Lithia UK, TrustFord and Vertu Motors all employing inspiring automotive women.
The winners from the franchised dealer sector included Lynne McBurney, Arnold Clark Automobiles’ group people director; Claire Bell, Lithia UK’s head of diversity and inclusion; Jessica Montgomery, a master technician at Vertu Motors; Tracey Newton, JCT600’s group people director; Vikki Banks, business technical support manager at TrustFord; and Nicola Thompson, Vertu Motors’ head of marketing – strategic projects.
Winners working within vehicle manufacturers included Carolyn Bundey (pictured below), senior manager strategic projects at Toyota GB; and Rachel Harrison, group vehicle operations and logistics manager at Volkswagen Group UK.
The 2025 Inspiring Automotive Women
- Lynne McBurney, group people director, Arnold Clark Automobiles
- Erin Baker, automotive journalist and editorial director, Auto Trader
- Catherine Faiers, chief operating officer, Auto Trader
- Sally Foote, chief commercial officer – sellmycar, Carwow
- Nicola Jackson, partner support executive, Close Brothers Motor Finance
- Sam Panayides, UK enterprise sales director, Cox Automotive
- Melanie Phillips, site operations manager, Direct Line Group Auto Services, Aylesbury
- Amanda Houssein, product portfolio director, Enterprise Mobility
- Laura Giri, lead garage trainer, First Step Trust
- Tracey Newton, group people director, JCT600
- Claire Bell, head of diversity and inclusion, Lithia UK
- Karena Shahid, regional account manager, LKQ Euro Car Parts
- Jenna Randall, general manager, Motus Vehicle Solutions
- Karen Greenwood, head of HR, Solus
- Nicola Sutherland, people and culture director, Steer Automotive Group
- Katie Grey, technical trainer, Thatcham Research
- Carolyn Bundey, senior manager strategic projects, Toyota GB
- Vikki Banks, business technical support manager, TrustFord
- Jessica Montgomery, master technician, Vertu Motors
- Nicola Thompson, head of marketing – strategic projects, Vertu Motors
- Rachel Harrison, group vehicle operations & logistics manager, Volkswagen Group UK
- Louise Baker, company director, Womanic
- Michelle Breffitt, co-founder, Women Drive Electric
- Olivia Mills, head of consumer customer service, Zenith Intelligent Vehicle Solutions