Ian Callum, RDI, Jaguar Director of Design, was born in Dumfries, Scotland. Ian attended a course in Industrial Design at Glasgow School of Art which was followed by a 2‑year course in Automobile Design at the Royal College of Art.
Ian spent the first 12 years of his career working in Ford Design studios, where he contributed to the creation of the Escort RS Cosworth and the Ghia Via Concept. Later, as Chief Designer of TWR Design, he was responsible for the Aston Martin DB7 and Vanquish.
Ian joined Jaguar in 1999 but continued to manage Aston Martin Design, developing the DB9 as well as directing Jaguar Design where he and his team created, amongst others, the R‑Coupe, RD‑6, C‑X75 and C‑X17 concepts. Heralding an exciting new era for the brand, each of his cars takes the design theme further and continues to reinforce Jaguar as a creator of 'fast, beautiful cars.' The first of the new models was the current XK, followed by the XF and XJ. Representing the latest in Jaguar design is the exciting all‑new 2‑seater sports car, the Jaguar F‑TYPE. September 2014 saw the launch of the Jaguar XE, a new car to the Jaguar family which Ian designed for a very competitive segment. A bold statement for the company using Ian's established design philosophy. In March 2015 Ian led his team to launch the second generation all‑new XF, which is already winning design awards.
Ian continues to lead a team of highly talented designers at the Jaguar Design Studios in Coventry and has been acknowledged as one of the world's foremost design talents. Ian has received 5 honorary doctorates from universities around the world.