DAF Trucks UK & Ireland names Beckett as MD

DAF Trucks has restructured its senior leadership team for the UK and Ireland, with the appointment of Nigel Beckett as managing director.

He succeeds David Kiss, who moves to the Eindhoven-based position of European sales director, with responsibility for sales and aftersales activities in Ireland, much of mainland Europe and the UK.

Beckett joined DAF Trucks in 2005 and, since then, has gained extensive experience in the service, sales and parts functions of the business.

Most recently, Beckett was director, Service & Engineering for the UK and Ireland – a position he assumed in August 2024.

“The coming years promise lots of change and, whilst there will undoubtedly be challenges, there will also be fantastic opportunities for DAF to support its customers and drivers with the best products and services possible,” Beckett said of his new role.

“With the strength in depth of our product range and our fantastic dealer network, we are perfectly positioned to demonstrate to the industry why DAF is the number one truck brand [across the UK and Ireland],” he added.

In a further key announcement, James Stewart has been promoted to truck sales director, UK and Ireland, succeeding Russell Patmore who was recently appointed director of marketing at the DAF headquarters in Eindhoven, with responsibility for the DAF brand globally.