Winners 2018

Toolan is responsible for raising the profile of Jaguar and Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division, which is responsible for creating low-volume, high-value cars like the Jaguar Project 7 roadster, as well as vehicle personalisation, heritage and branded goods. She performed a similar role under the division’s previous Engineered To Order (ETO) guise after moving there in 2013 from the position of global product manager for the Range Rover Sport. She joined in 2000 as specification controller for Jaguar after working for then-owner Ford for three years. She graduated from Aston University with an MBA in 2006.

Ingham joined Volkswagen last year as head of marketing for the brand, having been poached from her previous role as marketing director of Nissan in France. She reports to Alison Jones, director of the VW brand in the UK. Ingham’s job is to oversee both product and communications strategy for VW in its second-largest market in Europe after Germany and has been instrumental in forming a marketing strategy for its electrified models. Ingham was promoted to her senior Nissan France job in 2014 after impressing as chief marketing manager for small cars across Europe, a role she performed while based in the company’s European HQ in Switzerland. She has held a number of jobs within Renault and Nissan including purchasing, distribution and programme economist. In the UK she was marketing manager for crossovers before moving to the continent in 2011. Ingham graduated from Aston University in 1990 with a degree in business and French.

Wrixen was appointed to her senior position at Citroën UK, reporting to managing director Bek Hassan, in September last year after moving from the role of digital marketing manager for PSA’s finance arm in the UK. Since joining Wrixen has overseen the introduction of the ‘Inspired by You’ advertising campaign and secured sponsorship of Channel 4’s First Dates series. Wrixen has worked for PSA since 1988, starting as a technical services assistant for Citroën UK. She moved up the ranks and in 2005 relocated to Italy to work for PSA in Milan as a production and pricing manager. She left Italy in 2014 after two years as supply and distribution director. Wrixen holds a degree in international relations with applied foreign languages from the Université Paul Valéry in Montpellier, France, and also has a master’s from the UK’s Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Cox left her post at Audi as national communications manager to take up her current role with Volkswagen Commercials in 2016. Reporting to Carl zu Dohna, director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, she now oversees the brand’s product marketing activities including planning and launching new models plus all communications, digital strategy and events. Cox has a wealth of experience in UK automotive sales and marketing, starting in 1999 on a BMW graduate scheme aged 21. Her first role was in a dealership parts department, moving onto service advisor and then accounts clerk before finishing as sales and marketing manager for Mini at the dealership. In 2004 she switched to Audi as area sales manager, moving to academy manager and then national retail marketing manager. She was also temporarily head of marketing for seven months before moving in 2012 to the position of Audi’s retail marketing manager.

O’Leary heads up marketing for this dealer group, the second biggest in the UK with 157 outlets, according to the latest dealer survey from analyst ICDP. She joined the motor industry in 2014 when she was made group marketing director for Benfield Motor Group, which became part of Lookers in 2015. Prior to that O’Leary worked for design consultancy 20:20, following a four-year stint as brand director for clothing firm Adidas. She holds an MA in international marketing from the Heriot Watt University School of Business and a postgraduate degree in European Business and Marketing from the University of Greenwich.