Europcar Mobility Group has appointed Ron Santiago as managing director of Europcar Mobility Group U.K., covering all activities and rental brands of the Group in its U.K. perimeter. Santiago joins the U.K. business following 12 years as managing director of Europcar Mobility Group Australia and New Zealand.

Starting in his new role at the beginning of November, he has taken over from Gary Smith, who was appointed as managing director for Europcar Mobility Group Northern Europe and U.S. Region.

Santiago will focus on leveraging the Group’s and the U.K. business assets to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis stronger than ever. He will also deploy the Group CONNECT 2023 plan in the U.K., which aims at responding to customers’ new mobility needs and expectations in order to fully benefit from the market rebound in the years to come.

“It is tremendously exciting to be returning to the U.K. where I worked for 17 years, previously," Santiago said in a comment. "Gary Smith has handed over the reins of an innovative and customer-focused business that has stood up to the challenges of 2020 exceptionally well, delivering services that go to the heart of the needs of private and business customers. In a challenging and complex environment, still impacted by the pandemic, I’m excited to work with our colleagues and customers, as we focus on providing the right mobility solutions to help the U.K. economy get back on track. I’m also looking forward to be developing and offering services that can support the government’s low and zero emission goals.”

Named Australian CEO Magazine’s 2018 Managing Director of the Year in recognition of his leadership, guiding the business transformation, and continued excellence of performance over more than a decade in Australia/New Zealand for the Group.