Williams changes direction
New change at the head of Williams: the CEO of the group, Alex Burns, has left his position with immediate effect. He will be replaced by Mike O'Driscoll, who has been on its board of directors since 2011.
The Williams group has, in recent years, embarked on a diversification strategy beyond its traditional activities in F1. It has thus launched a division specializing in leveraging its intellectual property developed for F1 towards other sectors, notably in public transportation.
In preparation for its stock market entry, the group established a structure with a holding company at the head, bringing together the F1 team on one side and Williams Advanced Engineering on the other. At that time, Alex Burns was the group’s general manager.
He left the company with immediate effect today to make way for Mike O’Driscoll. The fact that the company does not mention his future activities at all and that none of the executives quoted in the statement even mention his name suggests that this departure was not necessarily initiated by both parties and indeed sounds like a sidelining. This is reminiscent of last year’s situation when Adam Parr, then in charge of the team, announced his departure in the middle of the season, four days before his actual departure.
The new CEO of the group has extensive experience in automotive business management as he was North America director for Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin between 2001 and 2007, before leading Jaguar Cars globally for four years. The links between what is now the subsidiary of the Indian group Tata and the Grove team are strong, since Williams was involved in Jaguar’s former future supercar, the C-X75.
Claire Williams, who took on more responsibilities at the beginning of the season, stated: « Today’s announcement is not only great news for the company but is also proof of our long-term strategy for the company’s success. Mike brings a unique blend of expertise and passion for motorsports with extensive experience in the automotive industry. I have full confidence in his ability to further develop the company and improve the performance of both Williams F1 Team and Williams Advanced Engineering. »
With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr
