Winners 2026

Government affairs 2026

Nicola Walker leads government affairs for Ford of Europe, focusing on political engagement on trade and investment for Ford’s commercial vehicle business across the UK, the EU and Turkey. She also sits on the Ford of Britain board. Walker has been Ford of Britain’s link to the government since 2016. Successes in her role includes securing government support to bring Ford's £230 million electric-drive investment to the Halewood gearbox factory and ensuring Ford’s needs were met in post-Brexit relations with Turkey, where Ford builds vans. Walker joined Ford from the Confederation of British Industries.

Government affairs 2026 nominees

Eman Martin-Vignerte, Robert Bosch UK

Eman Martin-Vignerte has been leading Bosch UK’s lobbying team since 2012. She joined the automotive supplier, the world’s largest, in 1999 to work on software and hardware development, starting with common-rail diesel engines, but then went into sales, rising to the position of director for sales and business development. Alongside her role at Bosch, she is also chair of the Confederation of British Industries South East Council and Leadership Fellow at the Society of Leadership Fellows. She has a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Paderborn and a degree in medical equipment engineering from Ulm University, both in Germany.

Sally Clift, Stellantis UK

Sally Clift is tasked with putting forward Stellantis’s position in discussions with the UK government, representing the group’s interests in the UK. She played a key role in helping to smooth the closure of the Luton van plant in 2025, keeping lines of communication open with the local council and maintaining good relationships with both the government and the unions. Among other important topics, she also engages with the government on the impact of the ZEV mandate and energy costs. She joined Stellantis in her current role in 2022, moving from JLR, where she was head of external communications for corporate affairs. She moved to JLR from map provider TomTom in 2017.

Franziska Rothe, Volkswagen

Franziska Rothe has been in charge of the London office of Volkswagen’s global government affairs department since 2013, reporting directly to the Volkswagen Group’s government affairs department in Germany and putting forward Volkswagen’s position on key topics including the ZEV mandate and UK-EU rules of origin requirements. She moved to the position from her previous role of PR manager for Bentley, covering western Europe, which she took up in 2012 after joining the luxury brand in 2010 as corporate and government affairs manager. Prior to that, Rothe lobbied for the Volkswagen Group on a European Union level.

Sally Hepton, Bentley Motors

Sally Hepton has led both the government lobbying and corporate social responsibility functions (called sustainable luxury in the company) for Bentley since 2013, when she moved to the luxury brand from her previous job as head of UK media relations for Shell. Prior to that, Hepton worked as corporate and government affairs manager for Toyota in Europe. Hepton is also a board member of the Northern Motoring Alliance and Regional Council Member of the Confederation of British Industries.

Natasha Mahmoudian, Tesla UK

Natasha Mahmoudian oversees Tesla’s UK policy positioning and advocacy for vehicles, trucks and charging, a position she has held since 2021. She joined the US firm from energy infrastructure company Centrica, where she led its public affairs advocacy strategy for electric vehicles, including charging and other related topics such as household solar. She moved there in 2017 from BP, where she rose to UK government affairs manager, following three years at Defra, working in international marine conservation. Mahmoudian was a ChargeUK board member from April 2024 until recently.