Graham Wheeler, CEO at Advantage Finance, has taken the decision to retire.
After 41 years in the industry, he has decided that the time has come to ‘hang up his boots’. At the end of the current financial year, he will retire from his role as Chief Executive of Advantage Finance.
The last four years has seen Graham successfully navigate two years of Covid lockdowns and limited market trading, the successful modernisation of the business as witnessed with a complete brand overhaul and supported with the enhanced alignment of internal business efficiencies.
Graham feels that with all these foundations in place for a fantastic future, now is the time to hand over the baton to the next future leader of Advantage: "I’ve been honoured and privileged to have served this industry for such a long time. Some of my most enjoyable experiences have been during the last 4 years at Advantage. I was lucky to end my career with such a wonderful company full of talented and knowledgeable colleagues. I welcome Karl Werner as my replacement, and I am sure the business will continue to thrive under his leadership.”
Following months of identifying a possible candidate as Graham’s replacement, Advantage is now pleased to announce that Karl Werner has accepted the role of Chief Executive.
Karl comes from a strong motor finance background, having served as an executive in the industry for nearly 20 years. He brings with him not only experience and exceptional knowledge but also an undoubted drive that will continue the brilliant work and sustained growth of the business.
With his roots spanning across Sales, Marketing, Operations, Risk and Finance, Karl’s people approach perfectly aligns with the core values of Advantage Finance i.e., finance built for humans by humans.
Karl commented, “I’m overjoyed to be following in Graham’s footsteps, he’s someone I’ve greatly admired, and he should be rightly proud of the immense contribution he’s made to both Advantage Finance and the industry throughout his career.
“I had a very specific list of qualities I was looking for when seeking the next challenge - proven expertise, a track record of success, clear ambition, an inspiring purpose within a strong people-focused culture - to have found all those attributes and so many more within Advantage Finance is quite simply a dream come true, I couldn’t be more excited for the future.”
Karl will join the organisation at the beginning of December partnering Graham until his departure at the end of the financial year at the end of January. Graham will not be leaving the business completely, as he will move to serve the S&U Group as a Non-Executive Director. Graham looks forward to maintaining his relationship with the team at Advantage while adding significant value within the S&U Group.
