Aston Martin has a named a new chief engineer. But rather than promote from within, it has brought in fresh talent from one of its biggest rivals.
The man in question is one Maximilian Szwaj, who in addition to having one of the coolest names we’ve ever heard, has served for the past six years as head of both innovation and body engineering for Ferrari as well as its onetime sister company Maserati. He has also worked for Porsche and BMW.
As vice president and chief technology officer, Szwaj effectively takes over from Ian Minards, who served as product planning chief at Aston Martin Lagonda for over ten years. Minards left AML just a couple of months ago to work for Dyson (yes, the home appliance company) where he’s rumored to be heading up a new electric vehicle project.
Szwaj arrives as a pivotal time for Aston Martin, which recently launched the DB11 based on a new platform, with a new design, and new powertrain. The British automaker is also working on a new supercar together with Red Bull Racing, will soon introduce a crossover previewed by the DBX concept, and has a number of additional products in the pipeline – all of which stand to benefit from Szwaj’s expertise.
In his new capacity, Szwaj will report directly to CEO Andy Palmer, who took the helm in October 2014 after more than two decades at Nissan.
Photo Gallery
