Former Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell joins Aston Martin
Aston Martin has announced the appointment of former Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell, who will join the Silverstone-based outfit as Group Chief Executive Officer as part of its ongoing journey to become Formula One World Championship contenders.
Andy Cowell will join the British team as Group Chief Executive Officer on the 1st of October 2024. He will report to Executive Chairman, Lawrence Stroll with current Group CEO Martin Whitmarsh set to hand over responsibility before the end of the year.
Cowell's career started at Cosworth before joining BMW Motorsport in 2000 and Mercedes-Ilmor in 2004 as Principal Engineer. At Mercedes-Benz HPE, he was Engineering Director between 2008 and 2013. Cowell became Managing Director of Mercedes AMG HPP in 2013 during the successful V6 turbo-hybrid era where the Mercedes F1 team won both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships between 2014 and 2020.
Commenting on the announcement, Lawrence Stroll noted: "I would like to thank Martin who has been instrumental in our growth phase as a business.
"In the last three years, he has developed the team and has helped us achieve some significant milestones, including fostering our relationship with Honda and delivering our state-of-the-art AMR Technology Campus at Silverstone.
"I am delighted to welcome Andy to our team at a crucial time. Together with our works partnership with Honda, the commitment from our title partner Aramco and Andy's leadership we are on track to become a world championship winning team. Andy has my full backing and will have every resource available to win."
Ahead of his departure, Martin Whitmarsh commented: "I have known Andy for many years and brought him to Mercedes HPP in 2004 where he became Managing Director between 2013 and 2020, achieving huge success in the business and sport.
"He will be an incredible asset to Aston Martin Aramco and will make a significant contribution to the execution of our strategy going forward.
"Andy's arrival in October and the completion of the AMR Technology Campus will allow me to step away and focus on other projects in my life, knowing that the foundations have been established with an impressive team, inspiring vision and advanced facilities to achieve success in F1."
Commenting on his appointment, Cowell said: "I am thrilled to join Lawrence's exciting project and look forward to working with the talented group of people that has been assembled.
"F1 has always been my competitive passion, and I am joining Aston Martin Aramco at an exciting time with the imminent completion of the AMR Technology Campus and our transition in 2026 to a full works team with our strategic partners Honda and Aramco."
