Arval has recruited one of the top executives of its biggest European rival, Ayvens, to lead the company through its next phase. Annie Pin, currently Chief Commercial Officer at Ayvens, will become CEO of Arval on 1 April 2027, shortly after the BNP Paribas leasing subsidiary completed its major acquisition of Athlon.
Pin will join Arval on 26 October as Senior Advisor to the current CEO, Alain van Groenendael. The two will work together during a five-month transition period, after which Van Groenendael will become Chairman of Arval’s Board.
The choice is particularly interesting because Pin brings experience from precisely the transformation Arval is now facing. She played a senior role in the integration of ALD Automotive and LeasePlan following their merger into Ayvens, while Arval must now combine its activities with those of Athlon.
The Athlon acquisition added more than 400,000 vehicles across ten European countries to Arval’s fleet, taking the combined portfolio to around 2.3 million vehicles.
Arval describes the enlarged company as a European co-leader in full-service leasing. The deal particularly strengthens its presence in the Netherlands, Germany and France, while also adding business in Belgium and several other European markets.
From risk management to EVs
Pin, born in 1980, started her career at Société Générale in 2004 before joining ALD Automotive in 2010 as Regional Risk & Project Director for the Nordic countries.
She became Managing Director of ALD Norway in 2016, putting her at the center of one of Europe’s earliest and fastest transitions toward electric company cars. In 2019, she became Chief Commercial Officer of ALD and subsequently retained that role within Ayvens after ALD acquired LeasePlan.
Her responsibilities went well beyond sales. Pin was involved in the development of EV and responsible-mobility offerings, international customer relationships and partnerships with car manufacturers.
She also remained on Ayvens’ Executive Committee after the merger, at a time when the group was focusing heavily on completing the integration of ALD and LeasePlan.
That experience is likely to be particularly useful at Arval. Apart from integrating Athlon, the company must manage an increasingly electrified fleet, including the associated risks around residual values, charging and the second-hand EV market.
Arval closes the gap with Ayvens
Pin’s move also has a clear competitive dimension. Ayvens remains Europe’s largest international leasing group, but Arval has been growing rapidly.
When Van Groenendael became CEO in early 2019, Arval managed just under 1.2 million leased vehicles. By the end of 2024, that had risen to almost 1.8 million, despite the pandemic and subsequent vehicle shortages.
After Athlon, Arval is approaching 2.3 million vehicles, substantially narrowing the scale difference with Ayvens. Scale matters increasingly in leasing because larger groups can negotiate better conditions with manufacturers, spread digital and administrative costs across a larger fleet, and manage used-car and residual-value risks more efficiently.
The appointment therefore looks like more than a normal succession. Arval is effectively bringing in an executive who has helped build and integrate its main rival just as it reaches the size needed to challenge that rival more aggressively.
Belgian at the helm for eight years
Belgian Alain van Groenendael has led Arval since January 2019. Under his leadership, the company expanded beyond traditional company-car leasing into EVs, connected vehicles and broader mobility services while maintaining strong organic fleet growth.
His final major move was the acquisition of Athlon. BNP Paribas originally expected him to step down from the CEO role earlier, but he remained in place to complete Arval’s current strategic cycle and oversee the transaction.
Van Groenendael will therefore not disappear from the company. From April, he becomes Chairman of Arval’s Board, while Pin takes operational control and helps shape its new 2027-2030 strategy. She will also become the first female CEO in Arval’s history.
