GM finance company appoints AXA market

GMAC-RFC, the financial services company owned by General Motors (GM), has appointed AXA e-business marketing director Karen Jones as UK marketing director.

Jones will be responsible for raising the profile of the company, which specialises in residential mortgages, but also offers commercial services to financial institutions, healthcare companies and resort developers.

The company uses through-the-line agency Phoenix. Jones says it is too early to say if this will be reviewed.

She replaces Simon Knight, who left the UK operation in October to work in the US as managing director of strategic marketing for GMAC-RFC globally. His work has been handled in the interim by chairman Stephen Knight.

In August 2000, Jones joined AXA from Abbey National, where she was head of customer marketing.

At AXA she was responsible for launching and developing a marketing strategy for AXA’s Internet sites, covering the AXA Sun Life, AXA Insurance and PPP Healthcare brands.

GMAC-RFC offers mortgages through tie-ins with Leeds & Holbeck, Skipton, and Stroud & Swindon building societies. The first two products to be offered through Leeds & Holbeck – a buy-to-let mortgage and a tracker mortgage – were launched this month.

GMAC-RFC is part of the global GMAC Financial Services arm of GM. GMAC-RFC is separate to the Vauxhall Finance division.