Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) has appointed automotive industry veteran Jean-Marc Gales as Chairman of the Board. Jean-Marc will work closely with the WAE Board and CEO Craig Wilson, who has led WAE for seven years, to develop the future direction and growth of this leading technology and engineering business.
In a distinguished 30 year career in the automotive industry, Jean-Marc Gales led the turnaround of Lotus as CEO and was a former CEO of Peugeot and Citroen. He also held senior executive positions at Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen. He was CEO of CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, and has been a senior advisor to Geely.
He is a non-executive Director of EuroGroup, global leader in rotors and stators for electric motors, LuxProvide, which installs and operates the Luxembourg supercomputer and is a member of the International Advisory Board of Tikehau Capital T2 Energy Transition Fund.
An engineer by profession, Jean-Marc has an MBA from Imperial College, London.
Jean-Marc Gales commented: “I have long admired Williams Advanced Engineering and the unique expertise in efficient electrification that it delivers for its clients. The business has built a strong platform, and now, with the new ownership structure and support of EMK Capital, I look forward to working closely with the Board and Craig to develop the full potential of this great business.”
Williams Advanced Engineering Limited is a world-leading technology and engineering business, born out of Williams F1 in 2010.
Based on the Williams technical campus in Grove in Oxfordshire, WAE helps a global customer base across a wide range of sectors solve their most difficult applied engineering challenges by combining cutting edge technology and the industry’s best engineers with precision and speed to market.
Their unique knowledge of high-performance lightweight batteries has been honed in the highly competitive and demanding motorsport arena, providing battery systems for most of the global electric racing series, including Extreme E and ETCR.
WAE actively supports sustainability with innovation through transformational technologies and capabilities such as advanced simulation, digital and stress modelling, aerodynamic and thermodynamic optimisation, systems/full vehicle testing, integration and low volume production.
EMK Capital acquired a majority equity stake in WAE in December 2019.
