Mike O’Driscoll
While it is best known for its legacy as a leading Formula 1 racing team, Mike O’Driscoll shares that Williams is also a cutting-edge technology business.
When Mike O’Driscoll was appointed to the position of CEO with Williams in May 2013, he recognised that there were some real opportunities for the business in terms of performance. Mike had been a non-executive director with the family-run company since 2011 and was therefore up-to-speed on its operations as a Formula 1 team and a technology and engineering group.
"One of the reasons I was attracted to join Williams in the first place was because I truly believed in the company; I believed in its culture, its spirit, its values, and its objectives," says Mike.
"We were underperforming as a Formula 1 organisation. We had finished 9th, 8th, and 10th in the previous 3 years in the Formula 1 Constructors’ World Championships, and that was the longest period of failure that we had seen at Williams in its 40 year history. I saw a great opportunity to improve on that.
"I also saw the chance to build a really strong engineering and technology business alongside Formula 1. I felt we needed to stop doing some of the things that weren’t adding value to our overall business. Those beliefs were formulated from discussions with other members of the board, especially Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams. This then formed the basis for the strategy that was put in place in 2013, and we’ve been executing it ever since. We are continuing to make progress while setting ourselves more challenging goals for the future.