Born in Dumfries, Scotland, Ian Callum studied Industrial Design at the Glasgow School of Art. On graduating Callum opted to specialise in vehicle design, enrolling at the Royal College of Art (RCA) on the Automotible Design course.
His performance at the RCA persuaded Ford to recruit him immediately and from 1978 he spent 12 years working in the company's design studios in Britain, Japan, the United States, Australia and Germany. He was then appointed Design Manager responsible for the Ghia Design Studio in Turin before he returned to the UK to join TWR in Oxford as Chief Designer in 1990.
During his time with Ford Ian Callum worked on both the exterior and interior design of the Fiesta, the Mondeo, the Ford RS200 mid‑engined sports car, the Escort RS and the Cosworth.
While he was with Ghia in Turin he played a major role in the Via design Concept for a mid‑engine sports car utilising a fibre optic lighting system and was responsible for the design and development of the Ghia Zig and Zag compact 2‑seater sports car and mini van vehicles.
Since his return to the UK in 1990 Ian Callum has worked on TWR programmes for GM's Australian subsidiary ‑ Holden, together with projects for Aston Martin (DB7 and Vanquish) Ford (Puma) Volvo (C70) Nissan (R390 Le Mans) and Mazda, Range Rover and Rover.
His brief for the DB7 was to carry through the design theme of Sir David Brown's world famous DB series, the last of which was manufactured in 1971, while taking full advantage of modern materials, components and manufacturing techniques.
Callum joined Jaguar in 1999. Based at Jaguar's design studios in Whitley, Coventry, Callum immediately set in place a programme to define a new design language for Jaguar as well as heralding an exciting new era for the brand ‑ the first evidence of which came in the R‑Coupe, unveiled at the 2002 New York Motor Show. Elegant yet imposing, the R‑Coupe looked firmly to future yet remained instantly recognisable as a Jaguar.
The first all‑new production car under Ian's leadership was the highly‑acclaimed all‑alumium XK followed by the XKR and, at the Geneva Show in early March this year, the purposeful XKR‑S ‑ the fastest Jaguar in a generation.
The XK has been joined by the XF saloon and, more recently, the XJ luxury saloon ‑ each taking the design theme further and once more establishing Jaguar as a creator of 'fast, beautiful cars.'
Representing the latest evolution in Jaguar design, the C‑X75 concept vehicle took the Paris Motor Show by storm in 2010. A thoroughly modern supercar yet one combining subtle styling elements inspired by Jaguars from the past, the C‑X75 was awarded 'Car of the Show' and received sustained acclaim from the media.
Today Callum continues to lead a highly talented team of designers at the Jaguar design studios in Coventry as the exciting new era for the brand continues.
Callum has two sons, Fraser and Alistair.