Dick Elsy chairs the Production and Programme Committee. Dick was Chief Executive of the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, the largest advanced manufacturing research institute in Europe, until his retirement in 2021. He is a career veteran from the automotive industry, with the bulk of his time spent at Land Rover and then Jaguar, where he was Engineering Director. At Land Rover he started his career as one of the key project team members on the original Discovery programme. He later became a member of the board from where he led the creation, development, and manufacture of the Freelander. Prior to joining the HVM Catapult, Dick was the CEO of Torotrak plc, the FTSE-listed developer of traction drive technology.
Dick is on the council of the UK Research and Innovation Science and Technology Facilities Council (UKRI-STFC) and is Chairman of AB Dynamics, an Alternative Investment Market (AIM) listed supplier of integrated test systems for the global automotive industry. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a holder of the Academy’s Silver Medal. He was recognised for his contribution to manufacturing and technology in the UK with a CBE in 2018.
He is an honorary professor at Strathclyde University and holds an honorary doctorate from Cranfield University.
In 2020, Dick chaired the Ventilator Challenge UK consortium, a collection of industrial and engineering partners from across the UK which manufactured and delivered over 13,000 ventilators for the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic.