Land Rover design chief Gerry McGovern has been recognised as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List.
The British firm's design director has helped shape a major overhaul of Land Rover's range, with a key role in developing key models such as the Range Rover Evoque and Velar, and styling the reborn Defender that was unveiled earlier this year.
McGovern is one of 229 people due to receive the OBE from Her Majesty The Queen, and is the only UK automotive industry figure among almost a thousand in total to be recognised on the wider list of OBEs, MBEs, CBEs and other awards.
McGovern, 63, now has a design career stretching back more than four decades, and including early stints at Chrysler UK and Austin Rover Group. While at the latter, he led several key Land Rover model replacement programs.
After working at Lincoln and Ford/Ingeni, he returned to Land Rover as director of advanced design in 2004, appointed by Ford design supremo J Mays. He was appointed design director of Land Rover, in 2006 and as chief creative officer for the brand in 2008.
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Gerry McGovern on the Defender and future projects
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Land Rover's Reliability Departmet honoured with OMG
Really
Well, who does, in the Car industry deserve a "Sir", according to and based on what's been posted?
Congrats
Every designer has a dud or two in their body of work, and McGovern is no exception. But he's also done some great design work over the years, from the forward looking MG-EXE of the 80's, to the original Freelander, to the solid and instantly recognisable design language used on modern Range/Land Rovers. He has some great designs in the can, and I think this award is well deserved. It's easy to poo poo a designers work from behind a keyboard, but to excel in your chosen field like McGovern has done is definitely no mean feat.
What other car company has,
Aside from the occasional Brexit moan from Sir Ralph Speth, it is as if the board of Land Rover doesn't exist.
Do they have a head of engineering?