This week we’re talking to Nathan Coe, CEO of Autrotrader the UK’s largest digital automative marketplace, the largest marketplace on the FTSE 500 and one of the most profitable. Nathan has been with Autotrader for 13 years and has moved through the ranks to recently assume the role of CEO just as the pandemic hit.

Coronavirus is the greatest challenge the business has ever faced. On 23rd March car showrooms were required to close and the decision was made not to charge for services while dealers were in lockdown. The £300m of revenue that is generated from dealers disappeared overnight and it wasn’t clear how long that might go on.

Coming out of the crisis the question was how would demand come back. On 1st June the demand for cars was like nothing ever seen before, enquiries were double pre Covid levels and still are. Prices of second hand cars have increased by 4% year on year.

Nathan says his success as a leader is a commitment to doing the right thing rather than making profit which pays off over the long term. He decided to furlough staff but also cut director salaries by 50% and removed company bonuses.

Above all Nathan realised that the power of leadership is in providing clarity to employees and customers alike and he invested a great deal of time in sharing information throughout and beyond the company. Listen to find out more.