Brave heart: Jaguar says Ian Callum “stands for the most forward-thinking, rule-breaking and emotive approach to automotive design” – and after 20 years of transforming the brand, the Scotsman is moving on.

JAGUAR Land Rover (JLR) has announced that Jaguar’s long-serving design director Ian Callum will hang up his well-worn set of scalpels at the end of this month after two decades leading the British prestige brand’s styling studios.

He will be replaced by Julian Thomson, who is currently Jaguar’s creative design director, however JLR is not about to let Mr Callum leave without a trace, signing him on as a design consultant.

The affable Scotsman’s retention is unsurprising given the influence Mr Callum has had over the cat brand since joining in 1999, which includes establishing – and executing – a new design philosophy, building up a widely regarded creative design team, remoulding established models and bringing all-new vehicles to the fore, and picking up a string of industry awards along the way.

His work is reflected in the F-Type – the marque’s first two-seater sportscar since the E-Type – as well as its sedans (XE, XF and XJ) and the brand’s first foray into the SUV segment via F-Pace, E-Pace and the all-electric I-Pace.

Mr Callum is also well known in Australia for earlier works, having previously helped establish TWR Design in the early 1990s with Tom Walkinshaw and serving for almost a decade as chief designer – a role that involved transforming a series of HSV Commodores for the Walkinshaw-owned Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) during the 1990s.

Of course, the TWR job also saw him responsible for the Aston Martin DB7, Vanquish and DB9 – beautiful cars that made him an obvious candidate for the role at Jaguar, which was part of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group at the time and Mr Callum (who spent the first 12 years of his career at Ford) was hired as a successor to the late Geoff Lawson.

Julian Thomson

As well as Jaguar, Ford’s premium brand stable included Aston Martin, for which Mr Callum was also responsible for a couple of years before Henrik Fisker, who had spent the previous decade at BMW, took the reins in 2001.

“I have had an incredible career at Jaguar,” Mr Callum said.

“One of my biggest highlights was creating XF because it represented the beginning of a new era moving Jaguar from tradition to contemporary design – it was a significant turning point in our story.

“Designing the F-Type was a dream come true for me, and I-Pace was an opportunity to create something hugely innovative that would really challenge the perception of Jaguar – and its success is testament to just how far the brand has come.

“I came into this role with a mission to take Jaguar design back to where it deserved to be. It has taken 20 years, but I believe I have achieved what I set out to do.

“Given the strength of both our products and the design team I feel that now is the right time to move on, both personally and professionally, and explore other design projects.

“Designing Jaguar cars was a lifelong dream for me and I’m delighted to remain involved as a consultant for the brand.

“I have worked closely with Julian Thomson for 18 years – he is a hugely talented designer and absolutely the right person to lead Jaguar design into its next chapter.”

JLR chief executive Ralf Speth paid tribute to Mr Callum, saying his contribution to Jaguar’s “industry-leading design reputation cannot be overstated”.

“Ian stands for the most forward-thinking, rule-breaking and emotive approach to automotive design. He has created a new Jaguar design language – and his passion for Jaguar has seen the range completely transformed during his 20 years in charge,” Dr Speth said.

“Innovative, beautiful, future-facing and true to our pioneering heritage, Jaguar’s current and award-winning cars are testament to Ian’s dedication – you can see his ‘signature’ in each and every one.

“Both personally, and on behalf of everyone at Jaguar, I would like to thank Ian for all he has done, and I am delighted he has committed to continue to be Jaguar’s brand ambassador as a design consultant.

“I’d also like to congratulate Julian in his new position as director of design. Now is Julian’s time to shape his team, and the next generation of Jaguars.

“I am excited about the future for Jaguar, and Julian continuing the brand’s position as a world leader in automotive design.”

Mr Thomson has worked alongside Mr Callum at Jaguar since 2000, and has overseen the development of the design concepts for the entire current product range.

He also began his career with Ford, before moving to Lotus as head of design and later shifting to the Volkswagen Group, where he was chief of exteriors at the German car giant’s concept design centre.

As creative design director at Jaguar, Mr Thomson is responsible for “establishing the future strategic design direction for the brand”.

He said he was honoured to take up the new position, and that it will be “a great privilege to lead such a talented team, and continue to build on our success”.

“Automotive design has always been fast moving, but today it is changing at a rate faster than ever before,” he said.

“I’m passionate about ensuring Jaguar Design leads that change, and the cars that will drive our future.”

Mr Callum’s brother Moray is also one of the industry’s top designers, currently serving as vice-president of design for Ford.

By Terry Martin