Automotive Insight Group hires two senior ex-industry directors to expand data and technology capabilities

Automotive Insight Group has hired two senior industry figures: Darren Moon, who spent more than 18 years at Autotrader and becomes strategic partnership director, and Ian Penny, formerly sales director at Factor Sales, who joins as strategic product adviser. The appointments are intended to accelerate the group's commercial expansion and product development as it combines consumer intelligence and aftermarket transactional data.

• Role: Strategic partnership director.
• Background: More than 18 years at Autotrader in group sales leadership.
• Expected focus: Build and manage commercial partnerships to expand the reach of Automotive Insight Group's consumer-intelligence services.

• Role: Strategic product adviser.
• Background: Former Factor Sales sales director and member of its advisory board.
• Expected focus: Support ongoing development of the Factor Sales platform and help integrate its transactional data into the group's offering.

Nick Richardson, chief executive of Automotive Insight Group, said Moon and Penny's experience will support the group's evolution into a business partner that delivers independent, reliable, real-time data and insights across the UK automotive industry. Nigel Morris, group commercial director, described the appointments as a clear statement of the group's intentions.

• Moon commented that the automotive sector is experiencing greater change than ever, increasing the need for independent market intelligence and positioning Automotive Insight Group as a provider of data to help retailers and partners navigate those changes.
• Penny said adding Factor Sales' transactional information would strengthen the group's proposition and bring broader insights to the marketplace.

What readers in retail and aftermarket should watch

• How quickly the Factor Sales transactional data appears in Automotive Insight Group's dashboards and reports.
• The types of dashboards, KPIs and data products targeted at dealers and aftermarket operators.
• New commercial partnership announcements leveraging Moon's Autotrader experience.

Automotive Insight Group is expanding its commercial and product leadership to convert a wider set of automotive data — consumer intent and aftermarket transactions — into market-facing products. The hires align with the group's recent acquisition activity and its stated aim to offer real-time intelligence to UK automotive companies.