Simon Thrussell

Simon joined dreamcarhire.com as Commercial Director in May 2008 after a lifelong career in the motor industry.

His career started as a commercial graduate with Jaguar Cars and by the age of 19 he had become the global training consultant in sales, aftersales and customer management world-wide, thus becoming a member of the ITD and after five years working in a variety of management roles within UK and European Operations, Simon joined Aston Martin with a brief to build up Service and Parts Operations Support and later taking control of global parts sales, brand licensing, marketing and merchandising. All this while he was also completing his BA in Business Studies.

Just five years later he went on to join the highly successful strategic brand marketing team at Porsche Cars Great Britain as Head of Aftersales Strategy, where he oversaw the creation of the first menu priced service offer across the whole franchise; the first of its kind in the UK.

During the next four years he was responsible for substantial business growth in all areas, as well as the development of Pan European Operational franchise standards on behalf of Porsche AG.

Then in 2004 Simon took over as Head of UK Network Operations, overseeing the continued development and profitability of the entire UK Porsche franchise network.

By 2006 he decided it was time to start his known business and left Porsche to form CJM Solutions Ltd with a partner. For the next two years, Simon undertook sales training

In early 2008 Simon was presented with an opportunity that was just too good to miss and he took the helm at dreamcarhire.com. His goal is to ensure that the dreamcarhire.com brand continues to grow, develop and remain the UK’s best prestige vehicle hire company.

Tony Rodia

After successfully completing a BA (Hons) in Business Management, Tony decided to travel for two years around Australia and the Far East with friends. His varied work experience involved selling IT solutions to the Australian Government.

Upon his return to the UK, Tony worked as an Operational Manager for a brewery in Birmingham and continued for six years, overseeing a selection of restaurants in the West Midlands. After marrying in 2001 he left and joined the world’s largest market research company, Millward Brown managing accounts of Jaguar, Cadbury and Anheuser Busch.

In 2006, Tony started a small super car hire company and it was through this venture that his relationship with dreamcarhire.com grew, after working closely to provide leads and sales.

In April 2007, Tony was delighted to be invited to join the dreamcarhire.com team and is now responsible for sales and marketing of this growing company. He currently lives in Lechlade with his wife and three children.

Peter Dando

After completing his BA (Hons) Business Studies degree, he immediately pursued a buying career working at various retail head offices across the south. As part of his work he enjoyed travelling to the Far East and Europe in sourcing the manufacture of products.

In 2008, he was presented with the opportunity to work as an Assistant Product Manager for Ford Gowrings. The role focused on the improvement of the product offer and how best to market these. Whilst working for Ford he was made aware of the opportunity to work for dreamcarhire.com in their Sales and Marketing department.

He currently lives in Newbury and enjoys spending his spare time keeping fit and socialising with friends and family.

Philip Ireland

After successfully completing a National Diploma at college, Phil became the Sales and Marketing manager for his father’s business, Rob Ireland Specialist Activities. His responsibilities here were for liaising with major corporate customers, managing their team building events as well as instructing them on activities such as Quad Biking, Clay Pigeon Shooting, Field Archery, Paintballing and other outdoor pursuits.

In his spare time Phil enjoys participating in a number of sports including Football, Rugby and boxing as well as various car and superbike track days. In April 2009, Phil was enthralled to be offered a job at dreamcarhire.com and is now working alongside Tony Rodia and Peter Dando in the sales and marketing department.

Paul Wood

After leaving school and a brief spell working in the parts operation of a white goods manufacturer, Paul fulfilled his ambition of moving into a sales environment in the Motor Industry.

With 20 years Automotive experience, working in a retail environment for a number of leading brands, Paul has held both line management and senior management positions as well as time spent in consultancy and training roles.

Paul joined the dreamcarhire.com team in March 2009 and is responsible for all operational aspects of the company and works closely with colleagues in sales, marketing, vehicle collection and delivery and vehicle preparation to ensure that each hire experience meets the customer’s expectations.