More Moves: Peter Horbury leaves Ford back to Volvo and will be replaced by Moray Callum

Ford Motor Company today announced key changes to bolster vehicle design leadership at both Volvo Cars and Ford’s Americas operations.

Peter Horbury executive director, Ford Americas design, will return to Volvo as vice president, design, based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Horbury will replace Stephen Mattin, who has left Volvo to pursue other opportunities. Moray Callum, currently director of design for cars, Ford Americas, will replace Horbury as executive director, Ford Americas design in Dearborn. Both appointments are effective May 1.

“Peter has a deep knowledge of Volvo and understands how to use the power of design to define a brand,” said J Mays, group vice president of design and chief creative officer, Ford Motor Company. “Peter was the creative force behind the new Lincoln design language and before that, some of the most successful Volvo designs. He is the right person to take Volvo design to new heights in the coming years.”

Added Stephen Odell, president and CEO, Volvo Cars: “Peter is returning to Volvo at the perfect time to lead the design team in developing the next generation of Volvo products.”

Mays said Callum’s global background and successful track record at Ford in the Americas and Europe, as well as at Mazda, position him to lead Ford design in the Americas as the company moves into a new era of global products. In addition to lead responsibility for all Ford cars and trucks designed in North and South America studios, Callum also will guide the design of Lincoln and Mercury products.

“Moray’s success both at Mazda and in North America provide him with the experience to lead the Americas design team in developing cars and trucks that will build on our design leadership in the American marketplace,” Mays said.

Callum joined Ford’s Ghia studio in Italy in 1988 after assignments at Chrysler and Peugeot-Citroen. There he contributed the Aston Martin Lagonda Vignale concept. Moving to Ford’s Americas studio in 1995, Callum contributed to a broad range of Ford car and truck designs, including the 1998 Ford Super Duty pickup.

In 2001, Callum was appointed to lead Mazda’s design organization globally. Highlights of his Mazda tenure included the design of the 2003 Mazda 3, 2005 Mazda MX-5, 2006 Mazda 5, 2007 CX-7 and CX-9, and the 2008 Mazda 6, plus a series of concept vehicles including the Washu, Ibuki, Kabura, and Senku. Since returning to Ford’s Americas, Callum has overseen the design of the 2010 Ford Taurus. He also directed the teams that developed the 2010 Mustang, Fusion, and Mercury Milan designs.

After being appointed Volvo’s design director in 1991, Horbury reshaped Volvo’s design language starting with the Volvo ECC Concept introduced in 1992. The first production cars to reflect the new Volvo design language were the 1997 C70 and the 1998 S80. The subsequent S40, V40, S60, V70, XC90, C30, and second generation of C70 and S80 products incorporated and further evolved the new Volvo design theme under his leadership. In 2002, Horbury was appointed executive director responsible for the Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, and Aston Martin design studios. After moving to the Americas in early 2004, Peter developed a new design DNA for the Lincoln brand, initially expressed in the MKR Concept and further evolved in the MKT and Lincoln C Concept.

Horbury then led the Americas design team in applying the new design philosophy to most of the production Lincoln product range, including the 2009 Lincoln MKS, the 2010 Lincoln MKZ and the all-new 2010 Lincoln MKT. During his five years leading Ford’s America’s Design, Horbury led the design teams that developed the 2008 Ford Focus and Flex, the 2009 F-150, and the 2010 Mustang, Taurus, Fusion, and Mercury Milan, as well several future models still to come.

“I am excited about the potential to move Volvo to the next level of design leadership,” Horbury said. “It’s been a very exciting and productive five years here in America for me and the Americas design team. Moray and I worked together with J to build a leaner and more efficient design organization in North America with a very talented team. I’m confident that under Moray’s leadership, that momentum will only grow.”