19 April 2016, 19:00 - 22:00
Jesmond Dene House, Jesmond Dene Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 2EY
A man of many talents, Mark Squires is not only a highly acclaimed advertising executive, but also an accomplished musician and former leader of one of the North East’s most successful family owned businesses.
Founded almost 60 years ago by his grandfather, Benfield Motor Group was one of the largest and most well recognised privately owned companies in the UK motor trade until its recent £87.5m acquisition by Lookers Plc.
Having worked on advertising campaigns for some of the world’s biggest companies including IBM, Swiss Air, and Johnnie Walker, Mark studied at one of the top US Business schools before returning to the North East as Benfield’s operations director in 1992, before taking over as chief executive, a position he held for 15 years.
Moving briefly into the role of executive chairman, he later returned to the helm as chief executive in 2013 to continue driving Benfield’s growth; which employed over 1,600 people and prided itself on outstanding customer service and a highly engaging company culture.
With headquarters in Newcastle and 38 dealerships across the North East, Yorkshire, Cumbria and South West Scotland, Mark has seen his focus on customer experience pay off. With sales reaching nearly £750m, 2015 was also the year Benfield broke into the Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 100 as the North East’s largest private company and was recognised as the industry’s Motor Dealer Group of the Year.
And if that’s not enough, Mark also feels very strongly that with capitalism must come a conscience to give back to the community, which is exactly what Benfield’s charitable trust has been doing with 5% of pre-tax profits going to deserving causes and making match-funding available to employees doing charitable work.
Places are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment for what is sure to be an inspirational evening in a fabulous setting.
