Grove: Williams appoints new managing director

Williams Advanced Engineering, part of the Williams Group of companies that includes the Williams F1 Team, has appointed Craig Wilson to the position of managing director.

In this role Wilson will have overall operational and delivery responsibility for existing projects within Williams Advanced Engineering, oversee all business development activity, and take a strategic lead as the company continues to commercialise Williams' Formula One-derived technology and knowhow for the motorsport, automotive, transport and energy sectors. As a highly successful executive within the automotive industry, Wilson will bring a wealth of experience to an exciting and rapidly-growing business.

Before joining Williams, Wilson co-founded Oxford Applied Technologies, an engineering consultancy specialising in bringing sustainable transport projects to market. His previous roles include six years based in Melbourne as CEO of Walkinshaw Performance, running successful GM-Holden factory racing teams in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship and securing two Team and Drivers Championships and three Bathhurst wins. This coincided with a directorship with Holden Special Vehicles where he jointly led the engineering and strategic direction of the high-performance vehicle manufacturer. Wilson also spent over a decade at TWR Group, six of those as managing director, and oversaw projects such as the Aston Martin DB7, Volvo C70, Renault Sport Clio V6 and concept designs of the Bugatti Veyron, Aston Martin Vanquish and Audi RS4.

Speaking about his new role, Wilson said: "I'm delighted to be joining a company with Williams' illustrious history and I look forward to helping its Advanced Engineering division continue to evolve to support the growing requirements of our customers and the market sectors in which we operate. As a business, Williams Advanced Engineering stands out due to its origins in the very competitive world of Formula One with its rapid technology development requirements. The combination of accelerated development timescales, a collaborative approach to projects and strong expertise in energy efficient technologies makes for a powerful proposition."

Mike O'Driscoll, group CEO of Williams, added: "Craig has a great track record, with over 25 years' experience in the automotive and motorsport industries and his knowledge of key markets and project delivery expertise will be invaluable. The Williams Group diversification beyond the racetrack is ambitious in its scope and has started to deliver strong growth. Craig's leadership will help continue this momentum."