DETROIT — Moray Callum, the man in charge of crafting some of Ford Motor Co.’s most memorable vehicles the past two decades, will retire as its vice president of design effective May 1, the company said Monday.
Callum, 62, will be replaced by Anthony Lo, who most recently served as vice president, exterior design, for Renault. Lo will join Ford on April 1 and have a one-month transition period before Callum departs.
It is rare for the Detroit 3 to tap an outsider for the role of head of design. In 1997, Ford shocked the industry when it hired a young designer from Audi, J. Mays, to replace Jack Telnack, as vice president for design.
Since joining Ford in 1995 through its Mazda brand in Japan, Callum has led the design of vehicles including the 1999 Super Duty, 2011 Explorer, 2015 Mustang and 2016 GT. He was also in charge of recent vehicles such as the Mustang Mach-E, Bronco and F-150.
“Moray’s influence is seen on streets around the globe,” Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s product development and purchasing boss, said in the statement. “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.”
