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Page 51
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Peter Redfern
Beneath Peter Redfern's immaculate militarystyle exterior lies a cheery sales executive who probably gets an extra chuckle out of telling stories to illustrate just how unmilitary his approach really is. A tremendous enthusiast, Peter admits that he eats and sleeps trucks and buses — an invaluable asset for the man who in March this year was made sales director of British Leyland's truck and bus division.
Like so many who make the grade. Peter was a Leyland apprentice (born within 45 miles of the works) and after national service in which — typically for this adventurous spirit — he became bored with REME and transferred into the airborne brigade, he rejoined Leyland with the industrial units division. eventually becoming assistant sales manager. Today he sees that experience as a rare advantage for a young salesman, since it brought him into contact with engineers, managers and purchasing officers over a wide field and gave him an insight into business operation.
One suspects that Peter has enjoyed his several experiences of being chucked in at the deep end: soon after joining the industrial units side of AEC in 1962 he found himself in a Mexican hotel with a phrase book and a large stock of hope — but the twinkling Redfern manner must have stood him in good stead, because some of the people he visited are still BLMC customers. His switch from Leyland to AEC was short-lived because his move was followed by the merger, and by 1965 he was enjoying an interesting and pretty independent role as sales manager of Self Changing Gears.
It was in at the deep end again in 1967 when, as Scammell's new general sales manager, he realized with a slight shock that he had never sold a complete truck in his life. But he soon made his mark here, as is well known, not least through his ability to talk operators' language, and he was sale:. director by the following year.
A family man with two daughters. Peter has a great yen for holidays in remote spots of the world, and reflects that the advantage of having little time for recreation lies in dodging gardening, which he loathes.
Today in business, he says. life is real and life is earnest; he is busy, among other things, with aggressive advertising plans and in devising internal sales campaigns and dealer bonuses. And he sees it as particularly important for a quality truck producer to educate operators about total operating costs and vehicle resale values.
Absolutely typical of Peter is his latest activity — learning to fly: never content with the status quo, in business as in private life he is always prepared to jump new hurdles. B.C.