Professional services firm, KPMG, has appointed Dr Sarah Owen-Vandersluis as its UK head of future mobility and Edwin Kemp as UK head of automotive strategy, with immediate effect.
Before KPMG, Dr Owen-Vandersluis worked at Ford in the US and UK and succeeds Charlie Simpson, who is leaving the firm to pursue a new opportunity.
She is strategy partner within KPMG's Infrastructure Advisory Group and previously led the firm’s UK public sector mobility practice, advising transport authorities on the future of mobility.
She has over 20 years of experience consulting with organisations on strategic options, business cases for new initiatives, diversification of income streams and development of partnerships between the public and private sector.
Her future mobility team is led by directors Ben Foulser (Government, Infrastructure, and Digital) and Eddie Ataii (Corporates, Financial Services, and Energy).
Mr Kemp is an associate director within the firm’s Mobility 2030 practice and has over 11 years of experience advising clients across a diverse range of sectors.
He has specialised in the financial, business model and operating model implications of future mobility, mainly in the automotive, energy, logistics and infrastructure sectors.
He also focuses on growth strategy, deal strategy and enterprise-wide strategy. In his new role, KPMG said he would work with both Sarah and Andrew Burn, who leads the Automotive practice for KPMG in the UK.
Richard Threlfall, partner and global head of infrastructure at KPMG, commented: 'With Sarah’s experience, track record and vision, I have no doubt that she is the right person for the job. She’s been extensively involved in developing relationships between the public and private sectors and advising clients on the future of mobility. Her enthusiasm and dedication to both our people and clients is second to none.
'Edwin is a passionate automotive and mobility expert, with a relentless focus on helping his clients obtain favourable outcomes. With his expertise and knowledge of both the automotive sector and the way in which the future of mobility impacts – from energy to infrastructure, his years of experience and network will prove invaluable to our growing client base.'
Dr Owen-Vandersluis said: 'The future of mobility is fundamentally changing the way goods and people move and breaking down sector barriers to drive new forms of collaboration. This change is being accelerated as technology evolves and government’s decarbonisation targets draw closer. If anything, we believe that COVID-19 will accelerate previous trends towards digitisation, customer-centricity and zero-carbon.'
Mr Kemp added: 'The issues and challenges surrounding the automotive industry and future mobility more broadly are evolving both in the UK and globally. I’m looking forward to helping clients understand these challenges and strategically navigate them to keep pace with the rate of change we’re seeing.'
