I CAUGHT up with Matt Bristow last week over a lunch to introduce him to assembled like-minded hackery.

Matt Bristow, if you’re not aware, is the new head of corporate sales at BMW.

He’s made of the right stuff for the job too: Matt comes from a stint looking after the BMW’s used cars, while his previous experience comes from leasing with sister company Alphabet and by trade he’s a qualified accountant. All the bits in place then to do the job.

But clearly he doesn’t fall into the ‘boring accountant’ basket. He is engaging and has a clear understanding of what corporate customers expect.

He’s also clear that with BMW’s expanding range of cars he’s running a programme called ‘complexity’ – “I’m looking at how to make it easier for customers to understand the range,” he says.

Part of the programme is the appointment of two new sales managers and a corporate sales support centre to assist with the explanation of the new models.

In particular, says Matt, is the introduction of the new BMW 2 Series Active Tourer.

If you don’t know what this is, it’s basically a front wheel drive hatchback from BMW. “It’s a big departure for us,” admits Matt. “It’s the first BMW with a three cylinder engine, it’s front-wheel drive and then there’s the shape.”

As Matt says, it needs some explaining…