Ford design chief Moray Callum is retiring after seven years at the helm, to be succeeded in the role by Renault’s Anthony Lo.
Callum, brother of ex-Jaguar designer of 20 years Ian Callum, has been employed in automotive development since 1982, when he started working for Chrysler. In the 38 years since, he has spent time in the design departments of the PSA Group, Ghia and Mazda.
He has been in his current role as vice-president of design at Ford since 1 January 2014, when he took over from long-time design boss J Mays. During his tenure, he has led the design of key models including the current Mustang, GT supercar and Mustang Mach-E electric SUV.
While at Mazda, Callum was responsible for the styling of the third-generation MX-5 and the big-selling CX-7 SUV.
Moray’s replacement, Lo, joins Ford after a decade at Renault’s Paris design centre, where he was part of the team that rolled out the brand’s new Cycle of Life design strategy, as pioneered by the Dezir and Trezor concepts before being rolled out to all production models over the past few years.
Before Renault, Lo oversaw design at Saab, Opel and Vauxhall as director of advanced design for General Motors Europe, having joined that company after stints at Mercedes-Benz and Audi.
His first job in automotive design was at Lotus in the late-1980s, where he designed the legendary Vauxhall Lotus Carlton performance saloon.
Lo’s departure from the French firm comes as part of an ongoing shake-up of the Groupe Renault design team. Ex-Peugeot design boss Gilles Vidal was appointed head of design for the Renault brand last year, at around the same time designer Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos was appointed to oversee design at Dacia.
Lo said: “With the speed of evolving technologies and expectations, I believe cars will change more in the next decade than they have in the last century.
“Leading this change at Ford is a dream job for any car designer, and we’re going to embrace this era with open minds, ingenuity and breakthrough design solutions.”
Felix Page