Ian Callum keynote speaker

Born in Dumfries, Scotland, Callum knew he wanted to design cars from a young age, inspired by a trip with his grandfather to see an E-Type in the window of the Jaguar Glasgow dealership. His passion for cars and design led him to the Ford Design Studios where he started his career by contributing to the creation of the Escort RS Cosworth and the Ghia Via Concept. He then took on the role of chief designer at TWR Design, where he was responsible for the Aston Martin DB7 and Vanquish.

Joining Jaguar in 1999, he spent two decades with the manufacturer. Callum and his team created, amongst others, the R-Coupe, RD-6 and C-X75 concepts, the Jaguar F-Type, F-PACE and the World Car of the Year Award-winning I-PACE.

When Callum decided to leave, it was clear he wasn’t planning on retiring any time soon. Instead he became one of the founders of CALLUM, an eponymous design and engineering business to create bespoke and limited-edition products. The team’s first creation is the Aston Martin CALLUM Vanquish 25, created over two decades since Callum first penned the design. Having started as a passion project, it has become a limited run of 25 vehicles featuring more than 350 design and dynamic changes to create a GT car for today’s driver.

It’s yet another incredible accolade to add to Callum’s design collection, which has led him to being one of the most respected and celebrated British car designers. Recognising this, GQ named Ian Callum its Car Designer of the Year at the 2021 GQ Car Awards.