Rising Stars winners revealed

Autocar has announced its Great Women: Rising Stars winners, with Hannah Denton, area fleet manager at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, taking the overall honour.

The awards, held in partnership with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), recognise the very best up-and-coming talent in the British automotive industry in categories such as marketing, sales, design and manufacturing.

A separate Apprentice category also recognises the rising stars at the beginning of their careers.

Alongside the main title, Denton also won the sales award.

Autocar editor Mark Tisshaw said: “In a year of incredibly high-quality entries, it was really tough to pick a single winner. For the judges, Hannah stood out for her obvious drive and determination, coupled with superb results in her job as an area fleet manager at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

“Even in 2020, Hannah’s area hit its overall sales target. She’s quite clearly an inspiration, both to current colleagues and in terms of nurturing other women in her area of the industry, and is a very worthy winner of our overall Rising Star 2021.”

She said: “To be nominated for the Autocar Great Women Rising Stars is, in itself, an accolade, but to win the category and the overall award is fantastic, and truly humbling given the competition this year.”

Other winners included: Operations – Lynsey James-McCall, Ford Motor Company; Manufacturing – Barbara Garcia, Lotus; Purchasing – Lauren Sanderson, Bentley; Mobility and digital – Donya Jasteh, Jaguar Land Rover; Aftersales and workshop – Samantha Anscombe, Sytner Mercedes-Benz of Swindon; People development – Bhavisha Lad, Horiba Mira; PR and communications – Lauren Martin, Genesis Motor; Design – Nicola Danks, Jaguar Land Rover; Marketing – Natalie Wheeldon, Jardine Motors Group; and Vehicle development – Leonnie Cunnington-Barker, Aston Martin Lagonda.