19.12.2025

VP appoints CEO

UK rental group Vp - owner of telehandler rental company UK Forks, low level access specialist MEP and Brandon Hire Station has appointed Alice Woodwark as its new chief executive. She will assume the role at the start of February and spend a few weeks working alongside outgoing chief executive Anna Bielby, who announced her departure in late September and is due to depart in March.

Woodwark is currently managing director of Mitie Communities, the public sector facilities management division of the Mitie group. She will have completed a five year term with the company by the time she departs. She is also a non-executive director of UK housebuilder Vistry.

Woodwark began her career with international management consulting group McKinsey, starting as a business analyst in 1999, leaving after two years for drinks company Diageo, starting out as a commercial planner, and a year later was promoted to brand manager for Guinness. In 2005, she returned to McKinsey as an associate principal. After eight and a half years with the business, she moved to the institutional catering group Compass, initially as strategic development director. Over the next seven years, she moved up through the organisation to become managing director of the group’s RA specialist catering division, leaving for Mitie at the start of 2021.

Executive chairman Jeremy Pilkington added: “I am really looking forward to working with Alice and am confident that her experience, values and leadership style make her an excellent choice to lead the group into its next phase.”

Woodwark said: “I am delighted to be appointed as chief executive of Vp, serving industry leading customers across our target markets. I look forward to working with the excellent team at Vp to execute our strategy, prioritising the delivery of shareholder value through growth and operational excellence.”