Sit Down with the New Managing Directors of AVL Powertrain UK
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We are incredibly proud to announce Dr Bernadette Longridge and Tom Stone as the new joint Managing Directors of AVL Powertrain UK Ltd. Ahead of stepping into their new roles, we sat down with them to find out more about their backgrounds, their career achievements, what drives them and their vision for the future of the UK.
Photo of Bernadette Longridge (Left) and Tom Stone (Right)

Throughout this interview, we will introduce you to Bernadette, who as AVL Powertrain UK’s longest serving employee is promoted into this role from her position as Engineering Centre Manager for Basildon, becoming the first female Managing Director at AVL globally. Alongside her we will hear from Tom, who’s career at AVL began over eighteen years ago and has seen him take on a variety of roles, most recently as Engineering Centre Manager for Coventry, from which he is promoted into his new role.

With both Bernadette and Tom’s careers at AVL spanning almost two decades, we are interested in finding out how they started life at AVL, and how their careers have evolved. Starting at AVL in 2005 as a CAE Liaison Engineer, Bernadette moved into a Component Engineer role before progressing to Team Leader and Department Leader and then becoming the Engineering Centre Manager for Basildon in 2015. Meanwhile, Tom’s career began back in 2007 as a graduate Calibration Engineer, which saw him take on projects both in the UK and at AVL in France. Since then, he has progressed from Team Leader to Department Leader to Director of Sales and Business Development and then to Engineering Centre Manager for Coventry in 2020. 

What has been your biggest achievement in your career and personally?

Bernadette: “It must be getting this role. I remember when I started out as an engineer, I never would have imagined that one day I’d be joint Managing Director. It wasn’t something I set out to do, I just wanted to grow as an engineer and do my best, I enjoyed my work, was curious and worked hard. In terms of projects, one of my biggest achievements was being part of the team that developed the Ford Fuel Cell Hydrogen Demonstrator Vehicle. We had to invest in our facilities in Basildon and establish a safe hydrogen working environment. We developed the demonstrator vehicle together with Ford, and it was a great collaborative project and was definitely a big achievement for the team.” 

Tom: “What I’m proudest of is when I first moved to Coventry, during the pandemic. It was a really challenging time, but we had to bring the teams together and settle everybody down and work out the new way of working. There were fewer projects running and customers weren’t starting many new projects, but we set a good base to move from and subsequently had some really successful years after that. I’m really proud of the way the team come together and got through that period. Also, the relationship that we have developed with one of our big customers; we have become an important partner for them with a very collaborative joint approach. This is a phenomenal achievement as a result of everybody’s hard work over the past five years.”

What drives you?

 “It’s part of my nature, that I just can’t stand still, I’m always wanting to take the next step and lead the team. My goal is to ensure the company really excels at what it’s currently doing but also grows into new areas. That’s what drives me forward. I want to do a good job; I want us to do a good job, and I want the team around us to be inspired and empowered to do the very best, and to develop.”

- Dr Bernadette Longridge

Tom: “We are at the heart of the industry, and we are working to make things happen, delivering for our customers and pushing them and ourselves forward. I enjoy how diverse the technologies we work on are, the types of projects and the customers we work with. You get to see a snapshot across the whole industry working for AVL. I also love to see colleagues developing over time and progressing themselves – technically, their skill sets or into different areas.”

What do you see as AVL's role in the industry?

Bernadette: “AVL stands in a unique position, where we have the opportunity to work with so many different customers across the automotive industry, including OEMS and suppliers. This gives us a unique viewpoint and wealth of experience and knowledge and innovation which we can bring into our projects.”  

Tom: “We leverage our global network to bring all of that expertise directly to our local customers. We have a real customer delivery focus; we will never let any of our customers down and will always do what we can to deliver. I also think that focusing on research is a big part of what we do, so that we can push ourselves further and push technology further, which we can then take to our customers.”

If we fast forward five years, what do you see as the vision for AVL in the UK?

Bernadette: “I can see us still heavily involved in automotive. But I also see us having a significant part of our work in other sectors, such as aerospace and marine, and having a core group of people that are delivering on projects in those areas. We want to continue to grow in automotive and additionally grow into these alternative sectors, developing the skills of our people alongside developing the business.”

Tom: “We are aligned on our vision for the UK. I know that we will be continuing delivering for our customers whatever sector they are in. One thing we are very keen to keep is the culture that we have in the company and want to make sure that it doesn’t get lost. We are a people company, and we care about the people as well as the results. We’ve worked hard to build the culture and create that family feel, so we’re very protective of that.”

If you could use 3 words to describe AVL what would they be?

Innovation. Far-reaching. Responsible.

Bernadette:  "Innovation is really important because we always want to look at what the new technology is, for ourselves and our customer projects. Far-reaching because we want to explore all the opportunities in new sectors and keep developing them alongside our automotive work. We have a responsibility to deliver a good job, we must make sure that the quality is of the highest standard, and we are providing the best solutions for our customers.” 

Technology. Diversity. Family.

Tom: “We are always at the forefront of technology and striving to improve, learn and develop new technologies and deliver for our customers. We pride ourselves on the fact we have people from so many different nationalities with different backgrounds. We’re part of a huge network, which is hugely diverse. In the UK we are like a family, a lot of us have worked here for a long time and we have grown together. I joined as a graduate, and I feel like I grew up in AVL and now I have the responsibility to make that possible for others.” 

What is your favourite memory?

Bernadette: “I have two favourite memories. The first was the Christmas party we had after lockdown, it was such a fantastic event, and everybody really enjoyed themselves. It was the first chance we’d had to just meet each other and socialise. My other favourite moment was when we drove the Ford Fuel Cell Transit Demonstrator Vehicle for the first time around the track at Ford Dunton, about 10 months after we started the programme. When we won the R&D project, part of me thought it was fantastic, but the other part questioned what had we gotten into! It was such a steep mountain to climb and to see the vehicle driving round the track after all the teams hard work was a really rewarding moment.”

Tom: “Some of the team building events we’ve had, I enjoy the opportunity to connect with people and understand them on a personal level, we have to laugh together and cry together to build that family feeling within the company. Outside of that when I have seen vehicles that we’ve worked on out on the road. We had one project which was very difficult and when I saw some of the vehicles out on the road, I appreciated everything we had gone through and I thought it was inspiring to see something that you have helped deliver out in the real-world.”

What advice would you give to an engineer just starting their career?

"Run towards the fire. I always think the most difficult projects and assignments are the ones where you learn the most and develop the most as an individual, you will look back on those projects and be glad that you did them. You will get more development by going towards those projects than shying away from them. So run towards the fire and throw yourself in.”

- Tom Stone

Bernadette: “Be curious. Take every opportunity that you can to learn, talk to your colleagues and your customers, find out what they are doing. Take pride in your work and make sure you deliver the best you can. It’s your career and your life, take ownership of where it goes.”
4 of AVL PTE UK's management team holding an award
Ford Fuel Cell Van with 4 staff members in the photo
Group photo of 4 men who are part of AVL PTE UKs management team

After such an insightful and inspiring conversation, we are very keen to see where Bernadette and Tom take AVL Powertrain UK moving forward and want to congratulate them for their achievements and promotion into their new roles.