Ford Motor Co.’s Vice President of Design, Moray Callum, 62, is retiring on May 1, after seven years as the company’s design chief the company announced Monday. The announcement caps a 38-year design career, more than half of it at Ford.
The company is handing the design reigns to an outsider, Anthony Lo, vice president of Exterior Design, Groupe Renault, who will begin on April 1. Callum’s move follows that of his older brother Ian Callum, who retired as the head of Jaguar design last year.
A native of Scotland, Callum graduated from Napier University in Edinburgh with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design and holds a master’s degree in transportation design from the Royal College of Art in London. Callum started his career at Chrysler Corp., U.K. and PSA Peugeot Citroën before joining Ghia SpA as a consultant designer, where worked on concept vehicles such as the 1989 Ford Ghia Via and the Aston Martin Lagonda Vignale.
(Ford may take $2B earnings hit due to pensions and airbags.)
He joined Ford in 1995, working on such vehicles as the 1999 Ford Super Duty and the 2000 Ford Taurus before moving to Hiroshima, Japan in 2001 to lead Mazda design, then partially owned by Ford. Callum oversaw development of the Mazda2, Mazda3, Mazda5, Mazda6, 2005 MX-5 sports car, and the 2007 CX-7 crossover before being named Executive Director of Design for the Americas in 2006.
In that role, he had responsibility for Ford’s North and South America design studios. Vehicles developed on his watch included the Ford Fusion, Explorer, Mustang, EcoSport and Lincoln MKZ.
He was promoted to his current position in 2014, replacing J Mays. Callum brought a calming influence to the department after Mays’ mercurial tenure.
Since then, Callum’s experienced hand has guided the creation of the 2015 Ford Mustang, 2020 Ford Explorer, 2021 Ford F-150, 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E, 2021 Bronco Sport, and the 2022 Bronco. Callum also successfully nurtured a sophisticated new design language for Lincoln, including the 2017 Lincoln Continental, 2018 Navigator, 2020 Aviator and 2020 Corsair, reviving the brand’s fortunes.
“He brought and sustained a design vision and leadership to studios – including Ghia in Italy and Mazda in Japan, in addition to Ford and Lincoln – that has elevated the beauty, meaning and function of cars, trucks and SUVs for millions of customers,” said Hau Thai-Tang, chief product development & purchasing officer in a statement.
(Ford shuttering Brazil vehicle production at cost of $4.1 billion.)
Callum leaves Ford as vehicle technology is rapidly changing the nature of the automobile, and the company is transforming its business to one that offers services as well as products. Taking up the challenge is Lo, who held his now former job since 2010.
“Our industry is evolving more rapidly than ever,” said Thai-Tang. “Anthony is a world-class design leader with an exemplary global track record. We’re excited to have him lead our Design organization as we accelerate the creation of connected, intelligent and increasingly electrified products.”
Born in Hong Kong, Lo graduated with a master’s degree in Automotive Design the Royal College of Art in London in 1985 and a diploma in Industrial Design from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, before joining Lotus Cars in 1987. There, he designed the Lotus Carlton, then the world’s fastest sedan.
In 1990, Lo joined Audi in Germany, where he worked on the AVUS Concept Car and the A4. In 1993, Mercedes-Benz recruited him to Japan to work at its new design studio on the M-B F200, the 1995 and 1997 Mercedes-Benz Maybach concept cars, and the S-Class. The turn of the century saw him joining Saab in Sweden as Advanced Design chief designer before being appointed Director of Advanced Design for General Motors Europe in 2004, managing Saab, Opel and Vauxhall design.
Lo joined Renault in 2010 as Vice President of Exterior Design, where he initiated Renault’s ‘Cycle of Life’ design strategy and showcased it with a series of concept cars. Since joining Renault, Lo is proudest of his work on the second-generation Renault Captur and the Dacia Duster 2.
(Ford sales drop sharply in fourth quarter and full year.)
“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,” said Lo in a statement. “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.”
