Leadership

Bill Berman is Chief Executive Officer of Pinewood Technologies Group PLC, which encompasses Pinewood.AI and Seez. Bill joined the company in April 2019 as a Non-Executive Director and became Chief Executive Officer and Chairman in September 2019 when Pinewood was then part of Pendragon PLC, one of the UK’s leading automotive retailers. In early 2024 Bill put together a landmark deal to sell the company’s automotive retail and leasing arms to Lithia Motors, Inc. in North America and separate out Pinewood Technologies as a standalone PLC, listed on the London Stock Exchange and trading under the moniker PINE.L.

With a strategic focus on new business development, operational management, budgeting, and coaching, Bill fosters an environment where continuous improvement and operational excellence is realized. Through his collaborative workplace approach, Bill has built teams that consistently deliver enhanced value and efficiency for their customers across the world. In Bill’s first year as the Pinewood Technologies CEO, he orchestrated the signing of three landmark deals, propelling the company standing as one of the leading global pure-play cloud-based software solutions for automotive retailers and manufactures. Bill also spearheaded the merger and acquisition of a multi-million-dollar Dubai-based artificial intelligence company, while driving the company’s expansion into the North American market, creating a true global footprint for Pinewood Technologies. Bill’s extensive career has also included leading American automotive retail giant, AutoNation as President and Chief Operating Officer. During Bill’s time with AutoNation, the company rose to the ranks of America’s largest automotive retailer and saw year-on-year growth and record profits employing over 26,000 Associates with more than 300 vehicle franchises nationwide.

Bill’s vast experience in the technology sector dates back to before his time in automotive, which gives him a unique position to effectively lead Pinewood Technologies’ global growth strategy. Bill’s unwavering commitment to innovation, strategic focus on new business development and manufacturing process improvement has given him the reputation as a global industry expert across the sector. Leveraging a robust career spanning over 30-years makes Bill a regular contributor on industry news, global geo-politics and economic impacts, as well as, a guest speaker and lecturer, including at the Miami Herbert Business School at the University of Miami.

Bill holds an MBA from the University of Miami specializing in International Business and Technology.

Ollie joined the company in December 2005. He previously worked at Deloitte, where he qualified as a chartered accountant. He has held a number of senior finance roles across the then wider organisation including Group Financial Controller and Director of Group Finance. Ollie led the finance transformation programme in 2020/2021 which involved centralizing all of the Group’s accounting function. This resulted in fully standardizing all of the Group’s dealership accounting, adding a significant amount of control and risk reduction as well as a material cost saving from the removal of c.200 heads.

Prior to this at Pendragon, Ollie worked closely with the Chief Operating officer and key operational teams at Pendragon for
several years when he worked as Head of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A). As Head of FP&A, a key part of this role was
reforecasting operational pay plans, which was a big driver in operational performance improvement from 2014-2018. As a
financial analyst from 2010-2014, Ollie ran Pendragon’s used car and aftersales incentive programmes. At this time, Pendragon were the market leader in the used car market and were the early adopter in national pricing, which was a key driver to the Group’s used car profitability being significantly higher than competitors. The used car incentive programme was an integral part of this.

Ollie had a key role in the disposal of the UK Motor and Leasing divisions of the Company to Lithia Motors, Inc. Ollie’s accounting, financial and investor relations experience adds significant value to the Board.

With over 20 years of experience in technology and digital commerce, Ben is at the forefront of driving AI adoption in global automotive retail. Based in the UK, he leads Pinewood’s AI strategy, working with OEMs and retailers to deliver more connected and data-driven customer journeys.

Under Ben’s leadership, Pinewood helps automotive retailers harness the power of AI to unify and optimize the entire customer lifecycle. From consumer engagement to internal operational process, Ben plays a key role in bringing enterprise-grade solutions to market that enable dealers and OEMs to meet evolving consumer expectations and capture measurable business results.

Prior to joining Pinewood, Ben held senior leadership roles at Impel, Criteo, HookLogic, and Xerox, with a career that spans corporate development, business growth, and international market expansion. A frequent collaborator with cross-functional teams in product and engineering, Ben ensures that the voice of customers shapes the evolution of Pinewood’s AI Operating System.

Known for his thoughtful insights, approachable leadership style, and global perspective, Ben brings a unique blend of commercial and technical expertise to the conversation on AI’s future in automotive retail.

Kim Costello is Global Chief Marketing Officer at Pinewood AI, where she is leading the repositioning of the company to drive an increased focus on growth and revenue generation. Having joined the business in July 2024, Kim is responsible for overseeing global marketing strategies and customer-centric initiatives, playing a significant role in shaping the brand, product positioning and global markets expansion, including the company’s customer-facing rename and relaunch as Pinewood Automotive Intelligence™ (Pinewood.AI) trading under the name Pinewood Technologies PLC on the FTSE 250.

Prior to it being sold to Lithia & Driveway in January 2024, Kim was Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Customer Officer at Pendragon PLC - one of the UK’s leading automotive retailers, whose consumer brands include Evans Halshaw and stratstone. Kim was instrumental in the launch of the used-car retailer CarStore brand, and was responsible for leading the group’s marketing, internal and external communications teams and for the overarching customer experience at almost every stage.

With over 15 years of marketing experience, Kim spent seven years in Marketing and Corporate Communications at AutoNation, at that time America’s largest automotive retailer. Kim also spent considerable time in retail operations to gain a holistic understanding of the inner workings of car dealerships. Prior to her career in the automotive Industry, Kim spent five years in professional sports, including time at The Miami Dolphins of the National Football League, where she oversaw strategic marketing and creative initiatives for the business. During the last ten years Kim has forged numerous partnerships, collaborations, agreements, and sponsorships with organizations including Battersea Dogs and Cats home, the British Touring Car Championships, Collegiate Football, IndyCar, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Major League Baseball, and the National Football League.

In 2023 Kim was named Automotive News Europe Rising Star of the year for Automotive Retail. She has been a guest and speaker for the Financial Times and Reuters on assorted topics including generative AI (Artificial Intelligence), economic headwinds in the motor trade and customer insight.

Kim is a regular industry panelist and spoke at the 2023 Viva Tech, Automotive Management Live 2023 and 2024, Motor Trader Retailing Expo 2023, NFDA’s Driving Digital 2023 and Motorway’s Front Row 2025. Kim is also a member of the Wall Street Journal’s CMO Council.

George joined the company on 1 May 2025 as Chief Product Officer.

Formerly the Chief Innovation & Technology Officer at Lithia Motors, Inc., the largest automotive retailer in the world, George has executive experience in automotive technology and innovation, with particular expertise in the effective deployment of automotive technology management systems, enabling him to provide strategic leadership in relation to the Company’s product strategy and future growth.

Andrew’s entrepreneurial journey began early, founding his first company at 15 and launching three more businesses before entering university. He holds an MSc in Information Management and Business Economics from Copenhagen Business School, earned in 2016.

As Chief Product Officer at Seez, Andrew leads the strategic direction and execution of the company’s product portfolio,
including Seezar, SeezPad, and SeezClick. His deep expertise in artificial intelligence has been instrumental in integrating AI
across Seez’s product ecosystem. In 2023, he spearheaded the redevelopment of Seezar, making Seez the first company to
introduce a GPT-powered chatbot in the automotive industry.

Andrew’s focus on innovative product development and customer-centric solutions has positioned Seez as a leader in automotive SaaS solutions. Beyond his work at Seez, he is a prominent speaker at major tech events and actively mentors startups, advising companies across the Gulf and Europe to overcome challenges and achieve scalable growth.

Tarek also serves as a venture partner with Nuwa Capital, sits on the investment committee of Flat6labs, and is a mentor with Endeavor. Before launching Seez in 2016, he had a 20-year international career in finance.

He was director of strategy and business development at Yahsat, the aerospace arm of Mubadala (Abu Dhabi’s Sovereign Wealth Fund) for three years. Prior to that, he spent four years as a director on the investment team of Abraaj Capital, where he led several transactions for the firm and headed their Lebanon fund.

Between 2008 and 2010 Tarek served as a principal and partner with Siraj Capital, where he focused on the UAE, KSA, and Lebanese markets and led four SME investments in the telecom, retail, IT, and F&B space. He also sat on the board of each of these SME investment companies.

Tarek was previously an investment banker with Deutsche Bank’s mergers and acquisitions team based out of London, and later Dubai. He executed over $2 billion worth of M&A deals and advised on the largest MENA IPO to date. Tarek began his career as a strategy consultant with Booz and Co., where he focused on the telecom, healthcare, and industrial sectors, and worked on projects throughout MENA.

Over the years he has served as a venture partner with Wamda Capital and Al-Faisaliah Group and has worked with and advised numerous startups.

Tarek holds an MBA from INSEAD (‘06), an MSc in Finance and Economics with merit from the London School of Economics (‘02), as well as a BA in Economics with distinction (‘01) and a BSc in Biology (‘99) from the American University of Beirut. He is also a CFA Level II candidate.

Kieran Kelly is the Chief Technology Officer at Pinewood Technologies, where he has spent over two decades building and
scaling the company’s Dealer Management System into a global, secure, cloud-based platform.

Kieran joined Pinewood in September 2001 as a software developer, holding a BSc in Software Engineering. He progressed through architect, lead architect, and technical director roles before being appointed CTO. During this time, he designed, built, and implemented the DMS from scratch, including the vehicle sales, inventory, and enterprise-wide reporting systems that remain central to the platform today.

Security and compliance are at the heart of Kieran’s approach to technology leadership. He has embedded robust security
practices throughout the platform’s architecture and development lifecycle, driving Pinewood to achieve and maintain ISO 27001 certification. Under his guidance, the platform has been built with GDPR at its core, ensuring the highest standards of data protection for customers across global markets. Kieran is currently leading initiatives to achieve SOC 1 and SOC 2 compliance, further strengthening Pinewood’s commitment to security, operational integrity, and customer trust. This focus on regulatory excellence has been instrumental in building confidence with OEMs, dealer groups, and partners worldwide.

Looking ahead, Kieran is spearheading Pinewood’s AI strategy, integrating artificial intelligence across the product suite and
development processes to accelerate delivery and unlock new capabilities for customers. From intelligent automation to AI-
powered insights, he is focused on harnessing this technology to transform both the platform and the way the team builds software.

Under his technical leadership, Pinewood has achieved consistent year-on-year growth. He leads a talented team of developers, architects, and designers, fostering a culture where security, innovation, and delivery go hand in hand.

Kieran’s expertise lies in cloud technologies, security-first architecture, AI integration, and building global, scalable distributed systems. His hands-on experience across every layer of the platform, combined with over 20 years of leadership, positions him as a driving force behind Pinewood’s continued success in the automotive software industry.

Sarah joined the Company on 18 April 2019 as Bill’s Executive Assistant and was appointed Chief of Staff in June 2025.

Working closely with the executive team, Sarah supports the effective day-to-day operation of the business and delivery of key strategic priorities.

Sarah has over 20 years’ experience in the automotive technology space, having held a variety of roles, most recently at Pendragon PLC, where she developed extensive experience in the automotive retail sector and gained valuable industry insight.

Steve has a comprehensive academic background and extensive experience in leadership and product development, graduating with a BSc (Hons) in Management & Administration from Aston University in 1992.

Steve embarked on his career journey as a Marketing Assistant at Dana Distribution, swiftly advancing to software implementation roles and management.

Joining Pinewood in 1997, Steve led teams in Implementation and Training installing hundreds of dealer systems to implement new business processes and technologies.

Building on this experience, Steve moved into the role of New Product Development Team Leader leading the design and delivery of the Pinnacle dealer management system from prototyping through to pilot success and market growth, building the technical and commercial relationships to enable this.

Steve adopted the role of Product Director in 2017 to focus on identifying and delivering the features necessary for digitization of the sector and the international implementation of the system. Building on his expertise, he took responsibility for maintaining relationships with OEMs and overseeing their global integration requirements as Commercial Director.

Steve’s career trajectory reflects a steadfast commitment to driving innovation, fostering growth and delivering exceptional results in the automotive industry in the UK and globally, leading teams in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Matt is a senior executive with a proven record of designing and delivering large-scale strategic change that unlocks substantial shareholder value across multiple sectors, most notably within automotive retail.

With extensive C-suite experience, he excels at diagnosing complex organizational challenges, shaping clear and commercially grounded strategies, and leading high-performing teams to execute at pace. Matt has consistently delivered significant financial and operational outcomes - from major efficiency programmes to the successful negotiation and integration of new OEM partnerships - while overseeing functions spanning strategy, transformation, data, technology, digital and commercial development.

Renowned for his ability to galvanize diverse stakeholder groups around a common vision, he combines rigorous analytical thinking with an inclusive leadership style to drive sustainable growth and long-term competitive advantage.

Graduating in 2001 with a First-Class Degree in Information Technology, Simon Upton is a commercially driven technology
leader with over 15 years of experience in the automotive sector. He has served as Chief Operating Officer at both GForces and, more recently, the Automotive Transformation Group.

Simon is a seasoned Private Equity–backed board member and has played a pivotal role in multiple successful acquisitions,
mergers, and exit processes. His strategic leadership and operational discipline have consistently delivered strong commercial outcomes and organizational scale-up.

Before entering the automotive industry, Simon held several senior roles at J Sainsbury’s PLC, a FTSE 100 retailer. Rising to the position of Head of Procurement, he gained significant exposure to highly complex commercial, operational, and technology-driven negotiations. In recognition of his achievements, Simon was awarded the Chartered Institute of Purchasing’s 35 Under 35 accolade in 2009.

With a track record of driving transformation, delivering shareholder value, and leading high-performance teams, Simon brings a unique blend of commercial acumen, operational expertise, and deep technology insight to every organization he supports.