James Brearley appointed managing director of Lookers
James Brearley has been appointed managing director of Lookers following the takeover of the group by Canadian Kuldeep Billan’s Alpha Auto Group at the end of last year.
James Brearley
The appointment fills the gap left by former Lookers chief executive Mark Raban who left at the end of 2023. Lookers also lost chief operating officer Duncan McPhee in April of this year.
Brearley, appointed earlier this month, was chief operating officer of Peter Vardy a role he’d held for the previous 14 months. Prior to that he had been Inchcape Retail CEO for five years.
Alpha Auto bought Lookers for £504 million in October 2023 and following a strategic review in January said it would cut around 14.5% of its 6,500-strong workforce. This followed an initial 3% cull in December.
Speaking exclusively to Auto Retail Agenda, Brearley said: “I’m absolutely delighted to join the Lookers team. It’s a great opportunity to work with a great team.”