Managing Director, Commercial, Unipart

Odgers partnered with Unipart to identify an outstanding leader for the newly-created role of Managing Director, Commercial, with Jim Hartshorne starting the role in March 2025 from his current position as Managing Director, Automotive within the company.

Unipart is a supply chain performance improvement partner headquartered in Cowley, Oxford.

What is your career background?

I studied HR at university, but I always had my sights set on general management. I saw HR as a valuable foundation to help me get there. I joined Wincanton’s excellent graduate training programme back in 2001 and spent five years there in various training and development roles, mostly focused on warehousing and transport leadership.

After that, I moved to DHL Supply Chain, where I spent 17 years progressing into executive roles. I worked across both sales and operations in Europe, and for the last five years, I was Managing Director of the Retail & Consumer business, also overseeing our operations in Ireland. It was a large-scale role - around £1.2 billion in turnover and 16,000 people in the teams reporting to me. I had a fantastic experience at DHL and learned a huge amount.

Then the time felt right for a change, and I joined Paragon, a business services group with deep roots in print. They’re still one of the largest printers in Europe, especially for critical mail like insurance documents and bank statements. After about a year there, I was approached by Odgers about a potential non-exec opportunity at Unipart. They were reaching out to experienced supply chain leaders, and as it happened, I was also looking to move on from my role. Through those conversations, the opportunity at Unipart came up, and it felt like a great fit.

More recently, I’ve taken on the role of leading the commercial function for the group. We’ve just completed a major restructure, bringing together sales, business development, propositions, bid management, and more into a centralised function. The goal is to better leverage Unipart’s unique capabilities and it’s exciting to be at the start of something, building it from the ground up.

What are your ambitions and goals for your role?

I feel like I joined Unipart just as something exciting was getting off the ground. The work was already in motion when I first engaged with the business, but I was able to come in right at the start of the next phase. The planning had largely been done, and I was able to step in, pick up the final pieces, and help turn the vision into reality.

It’s been great to be part of something like that, genuinely exciting. I look at the role and feel confident that it’ll keep me engaged and challenged for the next three to five years. There’s a lot to do, but there’s also huge potential in the group.

What really attracted me to the role was the sheer amount of opportunity. The chance to be part of something and help it grow was a big draw. Toward the end of my time at DHL, I couldn’t clearly see what the next step would be, and during my time at Paragon, I realised what I was missing: a mission. Something to really get behind.

How was your journey with Odgers?

I've known Ollie a long time as we've had a couple of engagements over time as my career developed. I used to joke with him that he'd never place me but he’s always been a very supportive and engaging guy who knows the industry really well, and a lot of the key players.

He introduced me to his colleague who specialises in NED appointments and I have had some good engagement there. I like the fact that Odgers are connected like this and they consider candidates in different ways for different roles.

When this opportunity came up with Unipart, Ollie really drove it and I was very impressed with his knowledge of me as a candidate and what I could bring. I felt like he really represented me well alongside deeply understanding Unipart’s requirements. Ollie took the time to understand me as a person and through the process as it is an emotive journey. He was very good at keeping me connected to what was going on, so I'd certainly have no hesitation with working with Odgers again.

Success in Leadership 

Watch our interview with Jim as he outlines how his leadership can activate company strategy, what effective execution looks like, and discover his three key elements to successful leadership. 

Watch our interview with Jim Hartshorne

_________________________________________________

Talent is at the centre of any organisation's success story. 

With 59 offices in 33 countries, Odgers' global network combined with deep industry expertise builds transformational leadership teams with exceptional talent. 

To optimise your organisation's transformation journey, get in touch.