Moray Callum, vice president of design for global Ford and Lincoln brand vehicles at Dearborn’s Ford Motor Co., has announced his retirement. He will be replaced by Anthony Lo, most recently vice president of exterior design for Groupe Renault in France.
Callum’s retirement is effective May 1, enabling a one-month transition to Lo, who will start with Ford on April 1. Lo will report to Hau Thai-Tang, chief product platform and operations officer at Ford. Callum’s product development career spans 38 years, and more than half of it was spent at Ford.
Callum’s most recent body of work includes introducing the 2021 F-150, Mustang Mach-E, and reimagined Bronco and Bronco Sport.
During his career, Callum also steered design for the 1999 Super Duty truck, 2011 Explorer, 2005 Mazda MX-5, 2007 Mazda CX-7, 2015 Mustang and F-150, and 2016 GT.
“Moray’s influence is seen on streets around the globe,” says Thai-Tang. “He brought and sustained a design vision and leadership to studios – including Ghia in Italy and Mazda in Japan, in addition to Ford and Lincoln – that has elevated the beauty, meaning, and function of cars, trucks, and SUVs for millions of customers.”
Callum is from Scotland and had two tenures with Ford totaling 20 years, first from 1995 until 2001, when he joined Mazda in Japan for five years to head design transformation. At the time, Ford had a partnership with and ownership interest in Mazda. Callum returned to Ford in 2006 as executive director of design for the Americas and was promoted to his current role in 2014.
He first worked with Ford in the 1980s as a consultant designer at Ghia SpA in Italy. He guided the development of dozens of concept vehicles, including the Ford Ghia Via and the Aston Martin Lagonda Vignale. He also worked with Chrysler in the United Kingdom and for PSA Peugeot in France on passenger and commercial vehicles.
Lo was born in Hong Kong and started in the auto industry in 1987, when a professor at the Royal College of Art in London, where Lo studied, offered him a position at Lotus Cars in England. There, Lo designed the Lotus Carlton, the world’s fastest car of its type at the time.
“Anthony is a world-class design leader with an exemplary global track record,” says Thai-Tang. “We’re excited to have him lead our design organization as we accelerate the creation of connected, intelligent, and increasingly electrified products.”
At Renault for the past 10 years, Lo helped design the company’s Cycle of Life design strategy. The approach was the basis for a series of award-winning concept cars such as the Dezir, Captur, R-Space, Frendzy, Twin’Z, Twin’Run, and Trezor. Lo and his team implemented the strategy in Renault’s global lineup of cars and SUVs.
“With the speed of evolving technologies and expectations, I believe cars will change more in the next decade than they have in the last century,” Lo says. “Leading this change at Ford is a dream job for any car designer, and we’re going to embrace this era with open minds, ingenuity, and breakthrough design solutions.”
Lo joined Saab in 2000. From 2004-2010, he was director of advanced design for General Motors Europe, overseeing Saab, Opel, and Vauxhall projects. He also spent time working for Mercedes-Benz in Japan and Audi in Germany. He has a master’s degree in automotive design from the Royal College of Art and a diploma in industrial design from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
