Martin Whitmarsh joins Aston Martin Performance Technologies

In the middle of its relentless recruitment push, Aston Martin has confirmed another high-profile person with the arrival of Martin Whitmarsh, who will fulfil the role of the Group Chief Executive Officer of Aston Martin Performance Technologies.

After several years away from the sport, Whitmarsh will return to Formula One next month when he begins his new role at Aston Martin. The Briton worked for McLaren for 25 years (1989-2014) in various senior positions including Group Chief Executive Officer and Formula One Team Principal for six years (2008-2014).

Since he left Formula One, he has worked in various projects, including being chairman of technology start-up business BAR Technologies and working at Offshore Wind Growth Partnership. Whitmarsh was also active in the work of the Lewis Hamilton Commission.

Lawrence Stroll, Executive Chairman, Aston Martin Lagonda and Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team, said: “I am very pleased to announce that Martin [Whitmarsh] will be joining us as Group Chief Executive Officer of the new Aston Martin Performance Technologies, from October 1st 2021.

“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 Cognizant Formula One™ Team into a Formula One World Championship-winning organisation within the next four to five years, and evolving it into a £1 billion business over a similar time period.

“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 One. 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,” concluded Stroll.

“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, from October 1st 2021,” added Martin Whitmarsh.

“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 Cognizant Formula One Team to win Formula One 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 One, 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.

“Last but far from least, I am very enthused about the formation of the new Aston Martin Performance Technologies, under which corporate umbrella Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team will sit, and I am excited about the prospect of developing and applying our technical capabilities and intellectual property as a successful and profitable new business,” Whitmarsh concluded.