McLaren Automotive has announced the promotion of Rob Melville to Design Director with immediate effect. He reports to Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Jens Ludmann. Frank Stephenson has decided to leave McLaren Automotive.
Melville joined McLaren Automotive in 2009 as Senior Designer, rising to Chief Designer in 2014. During his time at McLaren, He has worked on the McLaren P1, the evolution of the 12C into the 650S, the 675LT, and was responsible for the Sports Series which won the ‘Best of the Best’ category in the coveted Red Dot design awards in 2016. Most recently he led the design of the 720S, the first model in the second-generation Super Series.
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As Design Director, his new role makes him responsible for further developing the company’s design strategy, philosophy and principles working with the engineering and manufacturing functions, as well as the customer insights team. Another 14 new models or derivatives are promised under the Track22 business plan.
Prior to McLaren, Rob started his career at Jaguar Land Rover where his sketches and clay were chosen for the LRX Concept Vehicle which led to the Evoque production car. He later joined GM as Senior Designer within their UK Advanced Design Group. As a key part of the creative team he was responsible for evolving and realising the Cadillac design principles and philosophy across the product portfolio, including the Cadillac Converj project.
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Recently, Melville initiated the design pillars of McLaren Automotive which instil the brand’s DNA through the design process. These pillars form the main ethos from which the team create products that tell the visual story of their function. Implemented under Melville’s direction, the design pillars outline the core design principals of everything for a reason, functional jewellery, truth to materials, perfect proportions and always to be brave.
