In a nod to International Women’s Day on March 8, Arval UK highlighted the many industry and company “firsts” accomplished by Lakshmi Moorthy, Arval’s first female managing director, during her inaugural year, particularly in fleet and sustainable mobility.

Leading the Arval UK team through the post-pandemic period, Moorthy’s accomplishments include:

• Increasing customer numbers by 11% and growing its leased fleet by 4% in a flat market.

• Growing its electric vehicle (EV) fleet to 29% and electrified cars to almost two-thirds (62%) of those delivered year to date, helping clients transition to more sustainable fleets.

• Delivering Arval’s first biodiversity scheme, which assigns 1 tree for every 1 electrified vehicle, committing to plant more than 21,000 trees in the UK since its launch in 2021.

• Commissioning the company’s first real-world eLCV driving performance study to increase awareness and adoption of zero-emission vehicles among van fleets.

• Championing customers’ use of zero-emission technology, sharing learning via the Leading the Charge campaign, to enable UK companies to prepare for the 2030 road transport decarbonization agenda.

• Winning the fleet industry’s first Wellbeing Award, focusing on employee welfare and well-being.

• Launching the UK’s first e-Bike to employee leasing scheme.

Diversity and inclusion (including gender, age, and sexual orientation, among others) are also key goals of Arval UK, where women now represent 50% of the senior management team.

Moorthy joined Arval UK in March 2021 after heading up Arval’s retail business as Global Retail Director at its head office in Paris. She has more than 22 years of experience in consumer and commercial finance roles, working in several countries including India, the U.K., and France.