Steven Armstrong

Steven has had a 40+ year career within the automotive industry, 35 of which were within Ford Motor Company’s global operations. Having started his career as an apprentice at the age of 16, he joined Jaguar in 1987 as a junior buyer, working his way up to be Director of Purchasing by the age of 32, the youngest director in Jaguar’s history.

Within this period, Ford acquired Jaguar, giving Steven the opportunity to build a career across multiple countries around the globe. During his career with Ford, Steven was elected a corporate officer, served as Chairman, President and CEO, Ford of Europe, Middle East and Africa, President, Changan Ford in China and President, of Ford South America responsible for all Ford’s South American operations. Steven also served at Volvo Cars as SVP Purchasing and ultimately as Chief Operating Officer, where he oversaw the divestiture of Volvo Cars to Geely Automotive Holdings Ltd.

Since retiring from Ford at the end of 2022, Steven has been appointed as Chair of the Board of Governors for the University of East London, continued as a non-executive director on company boards and has provided leadership consultancy to a number of high-profile businesses. Across the above roles, Steven has gained extensive experience of direct government interaction at the most senior levels in some of the world’s most volatile environments.