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Gerry McGovern Named New Director of Lincoln Design for Ford

24 August 1999

Gerry McGovern Named New Director of Lincoln Design for Ford Motor Company

    IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 24 -- Gerry McGovern has been appointed
Director of Lincoln Design for Ford Motor Company .
    Previously, McGovern was Director of Land Rover Design for the Rover Group
in Warwickshire, England, where he was responsible for the next generation of
products within the Land Rover brand -- Range Rover, Discovery, Freelander and
Defender.
    "Gerry's keen understanding of luxury vehicles and his passion and
appreciation for high quality, aspirational designs will help us refine
Lincoln design and grow the brand to appeal to a wider set of consumers," said
J Mays, Ford's Vice President of Design.  "His fresh perspective and hands on
approach are a welcome addition to our growing design organization."
    McGovern, 42, studied transportation design and automotive design at
Coventry University and the Royal College of Art, respectively.  He started
work with the Chrysler Corporation, based in the UK, spending a small period
of time working in the USA.  He then joined Peugeot as a senior product
designer working on design proposals for car and truck model ranges.  Later he
moved to Rover, initially working in concept design where he was responsible
for a number of concept vehicles.  Moving into production designs, he played a
significant role in the generation of a number of production vehicles within
the Rover Group portfolio.
    He was then appointed as chief designer and received critical acclaim for
his work on the highly successful MGF.  This was repeated on the best selling
Land Rover Freelander before being appointed Director of Design for the entire
Land Rover Brand.
    "As Lincoln redefines contemporary American luxury, Gerry's appointment
clearly signals the company's dedication to growing the brand.  Like Volvo,
Aston Martin and Jaguar, Lincoln will now enjoy the benefits of a high-
profile, dedicated design director to chart the future of relevant, exciting
new product designs," said Mark Hutchins, president, Lincoln Mercury.