HIRED: David Raponi, of FLI
David Raponi is the new Business Development Director of Fleet Logistics International (FLI), as the company looks to drive UK and international expansion.
Mr Raponi, a highly-experience contract hire and leasing specialist, will help to expand FLI’s UK fleet by 10,000 units this year.
Based in FLI’s Birmingham office and reporting to Stuart Donnelly – Chief Regional Officer for Europe North – he will have resposibility for large national and international sales.
Mr Raponi has more than 12 years’ experience in the UK leasing industry, with Arval, LeasePlan and GE Capital.
He also worked for a further five years in the UK and US daily rental industries.
With FLI looking to aggressively expand their 110,000-plus European vehicle fleet, Mr Raponi will identify and recruit new national and multi-national fleet customers.
He will also play a part in helping Fleet Logistics expand internationally as part of the international business development team that operates across 24 countries.
Mr Raponi said there was ‘huge interest’ amongst corporate fleets he had spoken to in Fleet Logistics’ operating model.
The model uses multi-bidding to source the most cost-effective vehicles from a panel of preferred leasing suppliers.
“Since the 2008 recession, we have seen a greater corporate focus on cost control across the board, including the fleet budget,” he said.
“As a result, companies are more inclined to look at different models of operating their fleets, rather than using a sole supply leasing arrangement.
“And they are particularly interested in the multi-bidding, closer cost control approach that Fleet Logistics has to offer.
“For very large fleets this includes unbundling some of the services from the standard leasing package, such as tyres, glass, SMR, daily rental and breakdown cover.
“For me, personally, coming from a leasing background, it has been very interesting to hear the reaction from people to this kind of fleet management approach.
“The market has been very keen to talk to someone who can lift the lid on leasing companies’ practices that they may not have had access to previously.
“After all, it is usually their primary objective to maximise their return on capital, as they are typically owned by a bank or vehicle manufacturer for whom profit maximisation is all important.
“The international and national fleet management approach that we bring to the market is a different option and one that many companies are keen to hear more about.
“The market has responded positively to my move with many potential new customers looking to review their current fleet acquisition methods.”
Mr Donnelly welcomed the new addition to the Fleet Logistics team, and claimed his experience would prove ‘invaluable’.
He added that he wanted to grow the UK fleet in line with growth targets by the year end, and saw two main methods of doing so.
“We think someone with David’s knowledge and experience of the leasing industry will play a key role in helping us expand our fleet in the UK as he will be able to look at the client’s fleet from both leasing and fleet management perspectives,” he said.
“As we have said before, our first line of attack will be to target organic growth with large fleets in the UK and across Europe.
“This is where our expertise lies and where we have built our reputation for creating the optimum value over the years.
“Our second line of attack will be in providing fleet management services to fleet managers and third party service providers, with multi-bidding, invoice control and web-based real-time reporting to enable best-in-class fleet management and optimum value creation.
“This new appointment will help us in achieving these dual objectives and is part of our planned expansion for 2013 and beyond.
“Additional resources – including this latest appointment – will help us significantly in achieving our goal of substantially expanding our fleet this year.”
