ArchiLecture Speaker...

Peter Horbury
February 7, 2008

Peter Horbury is executive director of Design, The Americas, responsible for overseeing the design strategy and execution involving all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products in North and South America.  He was appointed to the position Jan. 1, 2004.

Horbury will help the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury design teams further evolve exterior designs on the expanding lineup of cars, trucks, SUVs and crossovers – and help take the brands’ strong interiors to the next level.

Since 2002, Horbury had been the Premier Automotive Group’s executive director of Design, responsible for overseeing future product design strategy and designs for Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. 

In this role, Horbury helped develop vehicles for individual PAG brands, create cross-brand design philosophies and processes and coordinate auto show design strategies and brand merchandizing.

Horbury has more than two decades of expertise with luxury vehicles. Prior to this appointment, he had been design director of Volvo Car Corporation since 1991, overseeing studios in Sweden, Spain and California. He was instrumental in creating and implementing the stylish new design language in the current range of Volvo products – including the all-new XC90 SUV and award-winning Volvo Safety Concept Car.
Prior to joining Volvo, Horbury worked as director of styling and design at MGA Developments Ltd. in the United Kingdom. In his early career, he worked on key Ford product programs in Europe, such as the Sierra, Escort and Granada, as well as Chrysler vehicles.

Born in Alnwick, Northumberland, UK, Horbury received his master’s degree in Automotive Design from the Royal College of Art in 1974 and an undergraduate degree from Newcastle-upon-Tyne College of Art and Industrial Design in 1972.

He was named Autocar’s Designer of the Year in 1998 and in 2005 was nominated for the prestigious Prince Philip Designers Prize recognizing a British designer whose exemplary work has had an effect on the perception of design by the public, and on the status of designers in society.  During a 32-year career has been actively involved in the design of more than 50 cars as well as trucks, buses and motorcycles.