Winners 2025

Sales 2025

Mollie Deacon has been named both the sales category and overall winner of Autocar Great Women Rising Stars 2025 for demonstrating exceptional ability after a meteoric ascent through the ranks at Bristol Street Motors, now Vertu, since 2018.

Beginning as a sales executive, she progressed to business manager and sales manager roles before becoming branch manager in 2023 and achieving her current general manager position just six months later. Having completed both management development and general manager development programmes at Vertu, she has driven impressive results in EV sales, with her team achieving a 30% EV mix despite market hesitation.

Her dealership leads the division in people metrics, from training statistics to staff retention. “Mollie has worked tirelessly to grow and develop herself in the motor trade,” said Vertu head of marketing Nicola Thompson, who also noted Deacon’s success in breaking through barriers in a historically

male-dominated industry.

Sales 2025 nominees

Stacey Bridge, BMW Group

Building expertise through multiple roles at BMW over an 18-year automotive career has enabled Stacey Bridge to stand out in this category. After starting in retail sales, she progressed to BMW Financial Services area manager before taking up her current position in retention development. Her impressive track record includes maintaining more than 50% customer retention for BMW Financial Services for three consecutive years. She created a digital customer landscape that future-proofed the company's approach while establishing a global loyalty community to share best practices across markets. Her achievements earned her the Area Manager of the Year award for the UK.

Kate Whiting, Keyloop

Kate Whiting wins recognition here after successfully transitioning from marketing to enterprise sales at digital automotive supplier Keyloop in 2024. Her career spans more than a decade across automotive and technology sectors, including roles at the Volkswagen Group, Porsche and Skoda UK before joining Keyloop. Despite being new to sales, she closed the company's largest deal of 2024 within her first six months, earning Rookie of the Year and President’s Club 2025 recognition. Her expertise in SaaS (software as a service) sales, digital transformation and e-commerce solutions makes her particularly valuable to OEMs and national sales companies. "Kate's transition into sales has been nothing short of extraordinary. She has gone from strength to strength, proving herself as an indispensable member of the team in record time," said Ben Whomersley, her line manager, highlighting her exceptional relationship-building abilities and determination to exceed expectations.

Mila Olivier, Stellantis

Transitioning from financial services to operations leadership at Peugeot in 2024, Mila Olivier has shone in the sales arena. Her impressive career began at PSA Finance, where she spent more than 20 years progressing through multiple roles – including marketing analyst, pricing manager and regional sales director – before joining Peugeot. Armed with that expertise and a BA (Hons) in business studies with languages, she leads a team of 10 zone managers responsible for new car sales and quality performance across the UK. Under her guidance, Peugeot achieved government VETS (ZEV mandate) compliance in 2024 while growing market share despite facing challenges when her line manager required extended leave. "Her determination and desire to succeed is clear to see and she puts her all into each and every day," said Peugeot UK managing director Nicola Dobson, who praised Olivier’s innovative team motivation techniques, including mentorship programmes and performance competitions that drive results.

Emma Masterson, Aston Martin

Emma Masterson has distinguished herself with an analytical approach and rapid career progression across major automotive brands. Starting as a commercial graduate at Stellantis in 2016, she advanced through product management at Citroën and joined Aston Martin in 2022 as global network performance analyst before being recently promoted to her current role. She holds an MA in history alongside a Level 3 data technician qualification. Her key achievements include developing an innovative ‘Dealer One Click’ system that consolidates performance data into a single page summary, which dramatically reduces analysis time. "Emma played a pivotal role in driving dealer performance improvements by bringing new insights into the business," said Hannah Shirley, Aston Martin’s global dealer business performance analyst, in her nomination. Shirley also pointed to Masterson’s outstanding leadership in creating analytical insights for the global dealer incentive programme that enabled data-driven decision-making across Aston Martin's network.

Holly Tuffnell, Volkswagen Group

Our judges were impressed by Holly Tuffnell for her strategic approach to performance management across multiple roles at the Volkswagen Group. After graduating with a first-class BA (Hons) in business and management, she progressed through six positions before reaching her current role, where she manages 16 TPS Centres with a £140 million annual revenue target. Her analytical mindset helped her identify opportunities in declining segments, delivering £1m growth year on year across the network. She co-chairs the Driven Women Employee Network Group, supporting the business to achieve more than 30% female leadership representation, and developed a virtual work experience programme to inspire future automotive leaders. "Holly took the massive step of taking a field-based role 18 months ago. She has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and brought a new dynamic to her region," according to her manager, who also highlighted her ability to drive performance while managing numerous senior stakeholders.

Mel Butcher, Isuzu

Mel Butcher wins recognition for her work after progressing through the ranks of Isuzu's dealer network since joining UK importer International Motors in 2014. She advanced through learning and development roles before becoming sales manager in 2020 and took up her current position in 2023. Her responsibilities include helping dealers to exceed financial targets and develop business growth through improved upselling, marketing and prospecting techniques. Her dealer-focused approach combines office support with extensive on-site visits to provide training, challenges to traditional methods and innovative solutions. She also coordinates national dealer conferences, where she presents to audiences of up to 250 people on topics such as dealer standards and sales campaigns. “Mel is always looking for ways to improve our processes to make it simple for our dealer partners," Alan Able, Isuzu UK managing director, noted in her nomination.