Aston Martin have hired former McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh as Group Chief Executive Officer. Whitmarsh, who was ousted from his role at McLaren in 2014, will take over as CEO of Aston Martin Performance Technologies, which will include the brand's Formula 1 activities. He will start work on 1 October. Whitmarsh will thus return to the Formula 1 sphere for the first time since his McLaren tenure, where he worked for 25 years as the CEO and F1 Team Principal between 2008 and 2014. This included overseeing the expansion into McLaren's automotive branch and McLaren Applied Technologies. "I am delighted to have been appointed by Lawrence [Stroll] to the position of Group Chief Executive Officer of the new Aston Martin Performance Technologies," Whitmarsh said. "I have known and admired Lawrence for many years, and I have always been extremely impressed by his formidable business acumen and his seemingly inexhaustible ambition. "Equally, I have always respected 'Team Silverstone'’, if I can call it that, which has often punched above its weight under its various previous incarnations, and which now has the weight with which to punch harder than ever before. "Lawrence intends Aston Martin F1 Team to win Formula 1 World Championships, plain and simple, and I would not have joined him in that endeavour unless I was utterly convinced that it was an entirely achievable aim. "I know what it takes to win in Formula 1, and, inspired by Lawrence's leadership and backed by the skill, passion and resolve of the workforce, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure that our team becomes the winning operation that Lawrence is determined that it should be." Aston Martin owner Stroll welcomed Whitmarsh onboard, saying that he will help establish the direction of the team to become a title-winning organisation. "Martin will enjoy senior leadership responsibility and will assist and support me in setting the new strategic direction for Aston Martin Performance Technologies and its subsidiaries, including the crucial objective of leading the transformation of Aston Martin into a Formula 1 World Championship-winning organisation within the next four to five years, and evolving it into a £1 billion business over a similar time period," he said. "Martin has enjoyed a long, successful and high-profile career, spanning the motorsport, automotive, aerospace, marine and renewable-energy sectors. Moreover, he is a proven winner in Formula 1. He is therefore the ideal person for the job of working with me and our senior management team to lead and inspire our workforce to future success both on and off track. "
Most read
