Fanny Weiss

Career path

The dream

Joining Bentley

Career progress

As a teenager growing up in France’s Moselle region, Fanny Weiss was into cars. She and her brother were fans of the Top Gear series, and she dreamed of working in the luxury car business one day. Today, at Bentley’s factory in Crewe, she’s surrounded by ultra-rare cars and grand tourers. “Once it was just a dream, almost unattainable. Now I've been here for so many years it feels almost normal,” she smiles. “You no longer have the romantic view. You know what goes into making them and they’re part of your everyday life.”

Fanny was around 14 when she seriously started to think about a career in business. “I wanted to be a doctor before that. My mum was a nurse, so obviously I had to be a doctor. But then I realised it really wasn't for me. I'm not good with blood!” Cue a change of direction...

“A school friend pointed out that to enter business schools in France, you study history, geopolitics, languages…these are all subjects I really love.” The die was cast. Graduating in 2017 with a joint master’s degree in management from the Toulouse Business School and Germany’s EBS Universität, Fanny’s first full-time role was as a Logistics Technical Analyst in Crewe.

“During my degree, I had already interned at other automotive companies, so I was used to the environment.” Logistics, Fanny explains, can be simply summarised. “We've got hundreds of suppliers across the world, mainly in UK and Europe, and we need to make sure that all the parts that we need to assemble our cars are at the assembly line at the right time and the right place, so our production colleagues can actually build cars.”

Joining in 2017, Fanny started in Bentley’s Logistics tech support team. Her role involved problem solving on different IT systems as well as designing and implementing minor system changes, while her most recent project was the major move to SAP EWM in 2024-25. Starting as a Technical Analyst, her first promotion to Project Analyst came four years later. By 2024 she was an acting Technical Manager, being confirmed in the role in 2025.

In parallel with her daily responsibilities, Fanny was also a founder member of a small team working on Sustainable Logistics. “Around the time of the Covid pandemic, I was looking for a fresh challenge. I approached Darren Oakes (Bentley’s Environmental Manager), and he suggested I become a sustainability champion within my department.”

Working informally with colleagues Tom Hutchinson and Colin Price (her current manager) Fanny started to look at ways of reducing the carbon footprint of all those logistics deliveries.

Fanny Weiss standing in front of car parts in the logistics warehouse.

Championing sustainability

Back to college

Pioneering change

Highlights

Although passionate about sustainability, Fanny realised she needed to learn more. With the support of her managers, she enrolled on an adult apprenticeship at level 7 for a master’s degree in business sustainability. “That was really intense,” she recalls of the three-year course. “I was studying for an MSc, while continuing with my day job. Anyone who has studied and worked at the same time will know how tough it can be. The course covered governance and law, environmental audits, strategy, communication and data reporting. It also covered supply chain, obviously a very big one, like working with suppliers.”

Fanny gained her MSc (with distinction) in 2025, and in a touch of serendipity a full-time role in Logistics Decarbonisation became available soon after. “I completed the interview process, and I got the job I always pretty much wanted. I think I’d have fought any rival candidates!”

Fanny’s role today involves looking at the many thousands of parts deliveries to the Crewe site and discovering if there’s a greener option. “The team I’m part of looks at our logistics contracts and asks providers to give us an alternative, greener option when they respond to a tender.” In time, she’s confident that the Pyms Lane site will be treated to the near-silent hum of electric lorries delivering components. “Of course, cost is still a major driver. But if the cost argument stacks up and there’s a sustainability benefit, we’ll go for it.”

One of the highlights of Fanny’s career at Bentley came in May 2025, when she and the Early Career team organised a Logistics Green Day. Dozens of logistics companies, training organisations and charities gathered at Bentley to discuss possible collaborations and innovations within the sector.

She has also worked with the Carbon Literacy Trust to deliver the automotive training course within Bentley and introduce colleagues to the issues and aims of decarbonisation. “It’s a one-day course that explains the basics of climate change, a bit of politics, what's happening internationally and then the second half of the training looks at their specific sector, what sort of things can be done to reduce emissions. We trained most of our logistics colleagues last year and now we are rolling it out to the rest of the business.”

Fanny Weiss walking through the logistics warehouse.

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Overview

Role models

The bigger picture

As an employer, Bentley has made a strong commitment to inclusivity. It measures and reports on gender and ethnicity pay gaps, setting out clear and positive actions to eliminate them. Has Fanny encountered any issues as a woman in the industry?

“Logistics is still a male dominated environment and - so far - my managers have all been men. But they have always respected, championed and supported me and I’m grateful for that. They have been great role models and mentors,” Fanny declares.

“From day one, as a young, newly graduated Frenchwoman, I was accepted as part of the dream team – and I haven’t looked back!”

Fanny Weiss has always been engaged in the world around her. As a student she volunteered to work with The Resto du Coeur, a French charity distributing food packages and hot meals to the homeless and needy. She also worked in Calais among refugees, gaining the individual, human perspective on stories of loss and hardship rather than the social media soundbites. Taking positive action on decarbonisation felt like a natural progression. “Addressing the causes of climate change isn’t just about protecting nature, it’s about people.”

Reducing the carbon footprint of Bentley’s transport logistics won’t change the world overnight, but it’s an important measure of the company’s commitment to sustainability.

“That's my life story. Trying to change the world a little bit. And if everybody tried to change the world a little bit, then a lot of good would be done.”