As Account Director for Avant Automotive, Neil Blackman is responsible for driving strategic partnerships with some of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers.
In this interview, we discuss Neil’s career journey, the importance of continuous programme development, adapting to customer needs, and the exciting plans for the business over the next 12 months.
Tell us about your career and how you came to join Avant?
My route into Avant and the automotive industry was quite unusual and not a traditional one. I hadn’t worked directly in the automotive industry before joining, but I’d spent nearly 20 years in recruitment, specialising in hiring across the automotive and insurance sectors.
I partnered with major automotive groups, insurance companies and paint manufacturers, giving me a strong foundational understanding of the industry. Avant was one of my clients for a number of years and I supported them in recruiting across a range of roles, so I really got to know the business and people working within it.
After many successful years in recruitment, I felt ready for a new challenge. Avant contacted me about recruiting an Account Director for the business and after discussing the role with Mark Johnstone it sounded like an ideal fit for me and felt like a natural progression. The move aligned to my skillset, and Avant was a growing business that I held in high regard. It felt like the right step at the right time.
Can you tell us a bit about your current role?
I lead the Avant Automotive division and am responsible for overseeing Avant’s relationships and developing strategic partnerships with our vehicle manufacturer customers.
The position is varied but in summary, I provide detailed partnership oversight. I ensure our teams deliver core operational and commercial objectives for our customers while keeping a forward‑looking view on how the industry is evolving so we can help them stay ahead.
Our paint and body programmes, delivered by our exceptional field teams, for Volkswagen Group, BMW/MINI, Toyota & Lexus and McLaren Global ensure our manufacturer approved bodyshops deliver high standards of repair quality, safety and customer satisfaction while maximising commercial return for the manufacturer and their networks.
Alongside these core programmes we also deliver a variety of other services and strategic initiatives including preferred supplier management, total loss avoidance schemes and accident management programmes for a variety of manufacturer and retailer partners.
It definitely keeps us busy and no day is the same!
How has the company grown and changed over the years?
When I first joined back in 2021, we were a team of around 30 people working out of a relatively small office. It was just after the pandemic and the industry was still in recovery mode, which made the environment both challenging and unique.
For a business of our size, we had built exceptionally strong relationships with our customers and had developed a fantastic reputation within the industry. Our growing portfolio of market-leading clients was evidence of this, and the ambition was to continue to grow.
During my time here, we’ve achieved significant growth across all areas of the business, moving into new offices, onboarding new customers, expanding our services and strengthening our leadership team.
It was this continued growth and industry recognition through multiple industry awards that no doubt caught the eye, and in 2025, Avant was acquired by Activate Group. This has brought even greater scale, new capabilities and exciting opportunities for further development of Avant and the Activate Group of companies.
Are there any projects Avant is working on that you can share with us?
My role is to continually develop our customer programmes, and we regularly run projects to ensure we continue delivering services to the highest standards. One of the most exciting developments is the launch of the new version of our network and compliance management portal – Avantell IQ. We’ve recently gone live with the first releases for BMW and McLaren and plan to roll it out to more customers by the end of Q2.
Avantell IQ will give manufacturers deeper access to data and performance metrics, make compliance and network management simpler while offering self-serve and significant levels of customer configurability, all of which will enable us to grow the product offering and scale across future customers. Feedback so far has been fantastic, particularly around speed, usability and the transparency it provides.
Alongside Avantell IQ, we’re continuing to evolve Revive, our total loss avoidance platform, and plan to integrate Revive with Avantell IQ in the future. This will create a seamless, end‑to‑end solution that strengthens insight and efficiency for our clients.
What can we expect to see from Avant now that you have joined the Activate Group family?
Joining Activate Group has opened some exciting opportunities for us, especially around how we integrate technology and expand the solutions we offer to clients.
We’re exploring how Activate Group’s digital First Notification of Loss (FNOL) and AI‑inspection tools could complement and enhance our own vehicle manufacturer, retailer, parts and accident management programmes.
We’ve also strengthened our relationship with Activate Accident Repair, Activate Group’s owned bodyshop division. We’re looking at how our in‑depth knowledge of manufacturer programmes can support the continued development of these sites and ensure they meet the evolving needs of vehicle manufacturers.
Overall, being part of Activate Group gives us greater scale, smarter technology and more opportunities for collaboration, and I’m looking forward to building on the strong foundations we’ve already laid.