We’re Building On Our Market-Leading Position By Getting Ahead Of The Game Where It Matters

Phil Williams

Chief Executive Officer

Phil is driven by a desire to add value and exceed customer expectations. He has been providing consumer focussed services since he cut his teeth with a North American Finance House way back in the mid 1980’s.

He blends both sales and operational expertise to provide objective analysis for clients, to help them maximise their business opportunities. He asks questions, listens with an intent to understand, and builds teams that provide best in class solutions.

Phil is also not afraid to pioneer new ideas. The hugely successful partial relocation of our Outsourced BDC services from the UK to Tenerife is testament to that. He saw the customer service opportunities that could be derived from the fantastic employee pool of skilled and mature, ex-pat professionals residing on the island.

Sam Gildert

Director

20 years of automotive experience has given Sam a unique insight into most aspects of the industry and he’s able to use that experience to support and advise our clients.

Having started as a sales executive, he moved through retail management positions before taking central roles on the executive board of UK Car Group.

Sam has worked with Direct Affinity for over 9 years in a client facing capacity, planning and managing the delivery of our full range of services. He’s harnessed his passion for the sector to deliver a best-in-class experience for our clients and their customers.

Steve Bainbridge

Performance Director

Steve has combined the personal discipline needed to be an international rugby player, (representing both England and the British and Irish Lions), with the business focus to carve out a highly successful career in the automotive sector, spanning some 35 years.

He started his career in retail sales, then spent 10 years in international automotive consultancy in the US and Europe and most recently 18 years in sales development at board level with Lookers Motor Group. Each role has required adaptability and has allowed Steve to develop a comprehensive but differing skill set and an impressive range of problem-solving capabilities.

His move to Direct Affinity Europe allows him to build on this and to focus on his particular passion; opportunity recognition and how to help retailers and brands capitalise on it, through a process of detection, diagnosis and solution deployment.

Dan Pitt

Marketing Director

Dan has a wealth of advertising experience in the automotive and financial services sectors, having worked with leading London agencies for 15 years, before joining his last agency and heading up their automotive division for over a decade.

There aren’t many sectors Dan hasn’t worked in or on but he’s always prided himself on the need for better Business to Business (B2B) marketing communication.

“B2B should never be boring!”

His move to Direct Affinity Europe allows him to focus on his particular passion; the omni-channel customer journey and how to improve it.

Paul Flood

Chief Technology Officer

Paul has over 35 years of experience in technology. Designing and developing secure high availability technology solutions in the telecoms, defence, finance and logistics sectors.

He started his career working in the defence sector in Manchester, programming computers the size of an average terraced house, and has worked through the technology revolution of the past 30 years.

Working with the Direct Affinity Europe team, Paul looks to drive technology and innovation within the business leveraging the vast knowledge and experience of the group.

In his spare time Paul is an enthusiastic apiarist (Bee-keeper – we had to look it up too!)

Fiona Westwood

Manager

Fiona learnt all about customer service the hard way, working her way up in the hospitality sector from receptionist to hotelier and restaurateur, running her thriving business for 26 years jointly with her husband. On moving to Tenerife full time, Fiona joined us in 2017 knowing very little about contact centres or cars but soon found herself enjoying the whole process and being part of a great team. Fiona moved up through the ranks before becoming manager in 2020.

Steph O’Hanlon

Management Assistant

After a holiday to Tenerife Steph loved the weather so much, she decided to leave the UK and her work in supermarket management to live the ex-pat life here instead.

Joining Direct Affinity Europe in 2017 a number of promotions followed, leading to Steph’s current role covering everything from IT issues, to maintenance, to floor and team training support. I’m not sure where we’d be without Steph!

Trevor Johnston

Training Manager

Trevor has worked for several large organizations including Standard Life, Europcar and the Sixt Rental Motor Group. He has a real passion for better customer service, active listening and problem solving, all skills that stand him in good stead at Direct Affinity Europe. Trevor has been with us for 3 years moving up quickly through the ranks to take on the critical role of training co-ordinator, delivering the high-quality instruction, mentoring and coaching we require, to ensure we can maintain the appropriate standards for our clients, delivered by the most motivated and engaged team possible!