John began his career in the automotive industry in 2000 with Visteon where he held a number of engineering positions. These included both resident and senior engineer roles, before taking on the position as Programme Manager for Visteon powertrain and interior products in Europe for the Toyota account, and powertrain development contracts with Honda. In 2007, he joined Transport for London, his brief being to deliver part of the Olympic transport strategy. In 2009, John was appointed Programme Manager for Low Carbon Vehicles at the Technology Strategy Board. The £250m Integrated Delivery Programme, which he manages, has initiated over 100 projects to stimulate growth in the UK auto sector, specifically focussed on vehicles and systems resulting in reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
John says, “The SMMT’s Award is a perfect snapshot of the types of technologies that are being developed in the UK. We have a formidable automotive heritage and seeing some of the new innovative technologies that are being developed provide confidence that the UK has the potential to make a huge impact on the global market.”
Dave Salt, Chief Engineer, GKN Driveline
Dave has more than 40 years of experience within automotive engineering and specialises in vehicle design, development and application. He is Chief Engineer and Engineering Site Manager at GKN Driveline, a UK-based global engineering company. The business employs 22,000 people at 56 locations in 22 countries, working in partnership with vehicle manufacturers. This is the fourth year that Dave has participated in the judging of the Award.
Dave says, “The UK automotive industry is one of the most diverse and dynamic in the world, but its capabilities in the fields of engineering, design and innovation are not always fully recognised to the extent they should be. SMMT’s Award is a great way to highlight these strengths across industry and, as a leading automotive manufacturing supplier, GKN Driveline is proud to be a part of the judging panel.”
Robert Lea, Industrial Editor, The Times
Robert has been a business journalist for more than 20 years and at The Times covers the automotive, transportation, engineering and manufacturing industries as well as industrial relations and business policy.
A representative from Lombard, the UK’s largest asset finance provider, will also join the judging panel and details will be confirmed shortly.
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SMMT Award for Automotive Innovation: the judges
Alongside SMMT’s Chief Executive, a panel of leading industry experts will judge the Award for Automotive Innovation 2013. The panel includes:
John Laughlin, Programme Manager – Low Carbon Vehicles, Technology Strategy Board
John says, “The SMMT’s Award is a perfect snapshot of the types of technologies that are being developed in the UK. We have a formidable automotive heritage and seeing some of the new innovative technologies that are being developed provide confidence that the UK has the potential to make a huge impact on the global market.”
Dave Salt, Chief Engineer, GKN Driveline
Dave says, “The UK automotive industry is one of the most diverse and dynamic in the world, but its capabilities in the fields of engineering, design and innovation are not always fully recognised to the extent they should be. SMMT’s Award is a great way to highlight these strengths across industry and, as a leading automotive manufacturing supplier, GKN Driveline is proud to be a part of the judging panel.”
Robert Lea, Industrial Editor, The Times
A representative from Lombard, the UK’s largest asset finance provider, will also join the judging panel and details will be confirmed shortly.