Martin Forbes, currently CEO of Cox Automotive UK, has been promoted to president of Cox Automotive International, effective immediately.

Martin Forbes, president of Cox Automotive International

Forbes, who has a background in finance and marketing, joined Cox in 2015 as managing director to run the Retail, Media and Dealer Software businesses and also launch a new Data & Insight division.

He then progressed to take the position of chief operating officer for a short period prior to assuming his current CEO post in July 2018, replacing Michael Buxton.

As part of his new international position and in addition to the UK, Forbes will now take on financial and operational leadership responsibility for a multitude of key markets including Europe as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil, whilst also looking at growth strategies in future markets such as China and India.

He will continue to report into Mark Bowser, chief financial officer for Cox Automotive Inc, who commented: “Martin is an accomplished global leader who is ready to guide our international business through the next phase of strategic growth in a post-Covid environment. He is going to strengthen the connections between our business units and geographies and continue our efforts to focus on the biggest opportunities for growth around the world.

“Martin’s already proven capable in these areas as he’s helped reshape the UK business over the past few years. In the last 12 months, he has overseen the high-profile dealer auction joint venture with Autotrader in the UK and, more recently, the acquisition of CWL Limited, one of the largest UK vehicle services organisations – and the biggest acquisition in the UK. He brings a wealth of global experience to this expanded role and I know he will help take our international business to new heights.”