Winners 2026

Vehicle development 2026

Emma Deutsch is head of Nissan’s European test and development facilities in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and reports directly to David Moss, Nissan’s head of R&D for the wider AMIEO region, which includes Europe. The promotion came in 2024 after she impressed as deputy director of the facility, a position she secured in 2021. Prior to that, she led a group of 15 people managing the body-in-white, chassis, doors, water ingress and vehicle security teams. She joined Nissan in 1999 from tractor maker Massey Ferguson, where she started her career as a graduate engineer in 1993. She also spent more than a year seconded to the Renault Formula 1 team, working in the test department designing rigs and other test equipment.

Vehicle development 2026 nominees

Ruth Nic Aoidh, JLR

Ruth Nic Aoidh oversees all vehicle programmes at JLR, from product strategy phase to delivery. She moved to JLR and her current position in 2023 and brings eight years of experience from McLaren Automotive, where she started first in a legal capacity, drawing on her background in law, and then as company secretary. She subsequently moved to an executive director position within the supercar maker, leading all business activities, including procurement, commercial and legal. She also led the establishment of the McLaren Composites Technology Centre. After leaving McLaren in 2022, she became interim CEO of Paralympics Ireland and since 2021 has served as a strategic advisor for the team’s preparations for the games.

Lisa Jay, JLR

Lisa Jay holds the key responsibility at JLR for all aspects of delivering new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicle projects, from inception to launch. She has been in the post since 2021, when she was promoted from senior programme manager. Jay moved to JLR in 2012 to project manage the launch of the Jaguar F-Type sports car, a position she secured after working at Aston Martin for nearly nine years, where she finished as programme manager for the DBS, DB9 and Rapide cars. Her current stint at JLR is her second at the company, following three years working as a launch engineer before her move to Aston Martin.

Elizabeth Hill, JLR

Elizabeth Hill oversees vehicle platform development for JLR, having been promoted from her previous role as chief engineer for body and chassis for JLR models, a post she had held since 2019. One of only a handful of chief engineers at the company, she has also worked at JLR as a chief product engineer and, before that, architecture planning director, when she was responsible for developing the firm’s large SUV strategy. She joined the company in 2002 in the manufacturing division of JLR’s Solihull plant after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Nottingham in 1997. Her first automotive role was as a graduate trainee at LucasVarity diesel systems.

Sarah Haslam, Ford Otosan

Sarah Haslam is a senior engineer embedded at the Ford Otosan plant in Turkey, where she acts as a key link between the development of Transit models and their production at the plant. In her role as assistant engineering director, she ensures seamless delivery of Ford-Otosan-led European passenger and van projects, a job she was promoted to in 2025. She was previously chief programme engineer for software and connectivity for vans and, prior to that, she was chief engineer for Ford of Europe’s engine development, a promotion she secured in 2018 after impressing as product vehicle team manager overseeing production quality of the Kuga SUV and Transit Connect van. Haslam joined Ford in 1992 after graduating with a mechanical engineering degree. She received an MBE in 2020 for her promotion of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) careers for women.

Lisa Reeves, Volvo

Lisa Reeves was promoted in 2020 to lead Volvo’s interior design programme after five years as a design manager, when she worked on the interior of the Polestar 2 electric car and the Volvo V60 and S60 range. She moved to Volvo in 2014 from Bentley, where she was an interior designer, creating production designs for the Mulsanne and second-generation Continental GT and Flying Spur. She also created interior design proposals for Bugatti. Prior to joining Bentley in 2007, she worked at JLR as a computer design modeller. Reeves joined JLR in 2004 on a graduate scheme after gaining a first-class degree in transport design from Coventry University.

Nicola Clegg, JLR

Nicola Clegg moved to this senior position in March this year from her previous chief engineer role overseeing chassis. She joined JLR in 2000, working on powertrain mounts for the Jaguar X-Type. She has steadily advanced through the engineering side and worked on cars such as the Range Rover Sport and the Jaguar XE and XF before being promoted in 2017 to become the engineering lead for JLR’s medium lightweight architecture. Her move to a chief engineer role came in 2024, joining other high-flying female engineers in the company such as Danella Bagnall, Elizabeth Hill and Kathryn Fairless.

Kathryn Fairless, JLR

A former Autocar Great Women Rising Star, Kathryn Fairless joined the ranks of the most influential women in the British automotive industry in 2024 when she was given the title of chief engineer at JLR, responsible for propulsion software integration. Born into a family of engineers, Fairless worked at engine specialist Ricardo for seven years after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Leeds University in 2000. She joined JLR in 2008 to work on emissions and drivability calibration for diesel engines before moving in 2015 to a management role leading a team of specialists in the calibration team. She became a senior manager in 2020 within powertrain calibration and controls.

Usha Raghavachari, Ford

Usha Raghavachari heads up the London-centred global team tasked with creating innovative features and services within Ford – for example, the new Transit’s folding steering wheel that doubles as a desk. She was promoted to this position in 2019 from her previous post as Ford’s marketing director for EVs in China and the Asia Pacific region. That in turn was a step up after serving as director of marketing for Ford in the Asia Pacific region, based in Shanghai and starting in 2017. Prior to that, she had been Europe head of marketing communications for the brand. Her Ford career started in fleet communications in the UK.

Helen Monkhouse, Horiba MIRA

Helen Monkhouse joined automotive testing company Horiba MIRA in 2016 as commercial manager for functional safety before being promoted to chief engineer in 2018, focusing on advanced driver assistance systems, automated driving and software‐centric vehicle technologies. Previously, Monkhouse held key roles at JLR and electric motor maker Protean. In 2023, she graduated from the University of York with a PhD in computer science entitled ‘Conceptualising automated driving shared control hazard causes’. Monkhouse has authored Motor Industry Software Reliability Association (MISRA) Safety Case Guidelines and is the UK expert to the AUE/32/1 Safety and Security of Electrical and Electronic Components in Road Vehicles committee.

Dr Esther Taylor, Thatcham

At insurance-backed safety research company Thatcham, Esther Taylor leads a team of automotive risk intelligence experts investigating new vehicle technology, identifying the best strategies for safe adoption. Prior to joining Thatcham, Taylor held a number of senior engineering and product leadership roles, including global head of product testing and engineering at BP, engineering and product director at the Aggreko energy company and engineering director at Indra Renewable Technologies. She holds a PhD in structural dynamics and a master’s degree in engineering acoustics and vibration, both from the University of Southampton