Oliver leaves VI to teach bosses
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by Sally Nash • After 13 years at the helm, Vehicle Inspectorate boss Ron Oliver is quitting the job at the end of April. He plans to teach senior executives from large companies how to improve their businesses.
Oliver has decided to leave his role of chief executive to set up a partnership with his wife to offer "executive coaching" to all types of companies.
Maurice Newey, who until the recent merger of Government departments was director of central services at the Department of Transport, has been drafted into the VI for a year. That will allow time for any restructuring sparked by the Driver, Vehicle and Operating review—involving the main driver agencies, Traffic Area Offices and the VI. Following the review the role of chief executive will be advertised and filled on a permanent basis.
Oliver says he is proud of the VI's achievements: "The VI has come a long way over the past 13 years. It has become more open, more strategic. Now it is time to give it to somebody else with a proven track record."
Oliver says he is leaving the VI in a fundamentally healthy and stable condition. However, some traffic examiners refute those claims, insisting the VI is in "a mess".
One examiner in Derbyshire says: "The situation is pretty grim. Let's put it this way— morale couldn't be any lower."
Another says his only source of information about the VI's activities is from trade journals such as Commercial Motor.