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David Cooper

Regional Operations Director, Central

Regional Operations Director, Central

David Cooper is dedicated to making Hendy’s operations on the central South Coast more local. He oversees the dealers in his area, which includes Southampton, Portsmouth, Chichester and Fareham. Hendy’s new regional model – splitting the South Coast into three separate regions (East, West and Central) – should mean more local profitability and, crucially, even better local customer service.

 

He joined Hendy in February 2025, as part of the new regional change. David is responsible for everything under the rooftop of the dealerships in his Central region, working with dedicated general managers. Each dealership in effect becomes a separate local business unit.

'The new regional model means dealerships can think and behave more locally. This means greater efficiency and better customer service. Management is more hands-on and there is more local accountability. Managers can also work together on local issues.’

The regional model allows experienced senior directors like David to concentrate on local dealerships and ‘to wrap your arms around the business’.

David may be a senior leader for a South Coast business, but he comes from the other end of the country, Warrington in Cheshire. A promising young footballer, he played goalie for Warrington Town as a lad. He still plays football for a veterans team, but now as a centre half.

 

His first job was as a sales executive for BT. ‘BT’s sales training was very good. It was about finding solutions for customers. But I wanted to get into cars. I’ve always loved cars and especially performance vehicles. So, I brought together my sales training and interest in cars and joined Arnold Clark Renault in Warrington. Duncan McPhee [now COO of Hendy] was general manager.’

 

The motor trade suited David, and he progressed quickly. He worked in management for Arnold Clark in St Helens and then in Wigan before, in 2010, joined Lookers in Altrincham. Promotions quickly followed. Later, he oversaw all Lookers’ Volkswagen business of 18 dealerships. In 2020, he became Franchise Director for Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Polestar. This would go on to include BMW and Mini.

 

Why join Hendy? ‘The heritage, the culture, the franchise portfolio, the opportunity for growth.’ David admires Hendy’s time-honoured values. ‘It’s the way colleagues interact. There’s a friendliness, a high-performance culture but with a family feel.’

 

Concentrating on one location really helps, says David. ‘In my old job, one week I was in Scotland, the next in Essex, the next in the Midlands.’ Local thinking is not only good for business, it can also clearly help make work more enjoyable.