Ash Kohli

Biography

Ash Kohli began his career in the automotive industry in 1987 as an apprentice, progressing through the aftersales discipline to the position of General Manager, Aftersales. That grounding in the operational realities of the workshop and service department gave him a perspective that would prove formative throughout everything that followed.

In 1998, Ash founded HCP Automotive, a boutique recruitment consultancy established at a time when specialist automotive recruitment within the United Kingdom remained largely underserved and conventionally structured. With a strong commercial instinct and an early appreciation of the value of digital communication, he became recognised as one of the sector's early innovators, among the first within automotive recruitment to establish a dedicated online presence and to contribute to a broader shift in how talent acquisition was approached across the industry.

HCP Automotive rapidly secured major clients including BMW GB, Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover, alongside many of the United Kingdom's most prominent dealer groups. The business subsequently expanded into the Middle East and Asia, developing a reputation for the identification and placement of senior automotive talent as well as advisory support across international markets.

In 2018, Ash co-founded HCP Group, a management consultancy focused exclusively on the Middle East automotive sector, working with organisations from Oman to Iraq. The firm advises on organisational structure, leadership capability, and operational performance across complex automotive environments.

A defining strength of HCP Group lies in its collective expertise. Ash has assembled a team of industry specialists drawn from senior OEM and retail backgrounds, including individuals who have led and developed successful automotive groups and brands from an OEM perspective. Their combined experience spans strategic leadership, manufacturer operations, and large-scale retail transformation, enabling a depth of insight that is both practical and commercially grounded.

Today, Ash also serves as a board adviser to two major automotive groups, contributing over three decades of experience across retail, OEM and consultancy environments.