The Executive Director, Product Creation and Delivery for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Bob recorded a lecture, provided technical footage and simulations from Jaguar Land Rover, and gave an exclusive interview about the skills and innovation needed by engineers to develop the next generation of luxurious and sporting vehicles for a sustainable world. This specially created film is now available for members of the Institution to view online for free by clicking here.
Bob is one of the best known and most influential engineers currently working in the global automotive industry. As the largest manufacturer of premium vehicles in the UK, it is Bob’s responsibility to ensure that Jaguar and Land Rover use technology and innovation to support their ambitious plans for growth. With JLR expected to invest some £2.75bn in the year to March 2014 on product creation to support its CO2 reduction strategy, this is no mean feat.
Bob’s career in automotive industry began with a series of roles for Ricardo and Dresser Industries, where he delivered new, innovative technology into production. He subsequently fulfilled senior engineering roles at the Rover Group and Jaguar Land Rover, where he has overseen the development of the Range Rover Sport, Freelander 2, Jaguar XK, XF, XJ and the new Land Rover Evoque.
As a Fellow of the Institution, Bob provided unique insights into engineering luxury sporting vehicles which can only be enjoyed by members of the Institution. In the context of a Jaguar which has 9,000 customer requirements, and the Range Rover Evoque which requires 30,000 assessments before it can be signed off, Bob spoke at length about JLR’s commitment to virtual engineering as a way of delivering the company’s strategic objective of more great cars faster.
For a world-class example of a product which offered the ultimate in best practice in lightweighting, advanced smaller engines, alternative powertrains and virtual engineering, Bob gave the engineering inside track on the Jaguar CX-75: a plug in parallel hybrid hypercar which is the highest specific power production car ever.
Recently recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering, through his award of Fellowship, for the world-class quality of his creativity, Bob gave candid practical advice from his own personal experience, of how members of all ages and stages of their career can make time for innovation, and the need to look widely within a variety of industry sectors – even the most apparently unexpected – for inspiration. Advising that systems and software engineering are the coming skills for a future engineer, Bob strongly advocated reaching out to today’s teenage gamers and encouraging them to apply their appreciation of software and electronics to developing systems of the future.
Bob’s presentation, slides, specially commissioned footage of the engineering behind the CX-75 and an exclusive interview with him are all available for members of the Institution to view from today. Visit: xxxxxxx