Clive Armitage, director of purchasing services for AstraZenca Pharmaceuticals, will take an early retirement from the company effective Jan. 2, 2007.

Armitage’s career with AstraZeneca spans more than 37 years, which included employment with predecessor companies ICI and Zeneca. Armitage has been responsible for the company’s fleet since 1989.

AstraZeneca is the 38th largest commercial fleet in the U.S. operating approximately 7,000 vehicles. Assuming Armitage’s fleet responsibilities is Kim Jamme. Armitage has been a member of the National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA) for most of his tenure at AstraZeneca and has been a member of the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA) for 10 years.

In addition, Armitage has served on the Ford Fleet Advisory Board and the PHH Arval Client Advisory Board. “Two of my main goals in managing the fleet were to provide a competitive selection of vehicles (this was a definite tie-breaker when attracting new employees), as well as maximizing the ROI of the fleet cost,” Armitage said.