management | Autovista Group

Laurence Jacobson

General Counsel

Laurence is responsible for leading the legal team in the provision of expert advice and guidance on legal matters, managing legal risk and ensuring compliance with laws and other requirements, and protecting our brands and other intellectual property.

His role at Autovista Group includes being a trusted advisor, managing legal risk, anticipating problems and issues in the business before they arise and helping ensure that activities are aligned with our commercial and strategic objectives.

Ben Smith

Corporate Finance Director

Ben has worked in tax for more than 18 years and has a broad range of experience including treasury, legal, pensions and property. His previous roles were typically working with small teams at a senior level across various sectors including manufacturing, logistics, product-testing and international tax.

At Autovista Group, Ben is responsible for tax, treasury and corporate legal. This includes ensuring that the structure of the Group - from a corporate, a legal and a debt perspective - is fit for current operations and global laws and that it remains on strategy.

Kelly Furneaux

Chief People Officer

Kelly joined Autovista Group in 2015. She has 25 years’ B2B media experience and more than 10 years as MD of high-margin international businesses where she specialised in acquisition integrations and building performance-driven, agile teams that are fully aligned to the company’s commercial objectives.

At Autovista Group, she has focused on building a community of managers that know how to get the best possible performance from their teams to ensure they retain, develop and empower our talent while never losing sight of our commercial goals.

Steve Smith

President - JD Power Europe

With more than 15 years of executive experience, Steve has worked in diverse, global environments specializing in aligning go-to-market, product, and operational strategies to accelerate growth, strengthen margins, and deliver lasting customer value. Prior to joining JD Power, Steve served as President, International at Sterling Check Corporation. Recognized for his pragmatic and collaborative leadership style, he builds high-performing teams and drives transformation grounded in commercial clarity, disciplined execution, and measurable impact. Steve has led expansion across multiple global markets, earning the confidence of investors, clients, and employees alike.

Tom Ovenden

Chief Financial Officer

Tom has a track record of implementing effective financial reporting processes, developing high performance teams, and driving commercial success. Before joining Autovista Group in May 2013, Tom was CFO of the EMEA region at Five Ten Group, a private equity-backed recruitment group, worked as Regional FD for Newsquest and was Finance Director for what is now Manheim Auctions based in Australia. Prior to that, Tom completed his accountancy training at PWC in London.