Clearly well-placed to understand what it takes to succeed across a broad spectrum of industries, Paul’s career has been marked by a willingness to embrace new challenges and adapt his engineering expertise to different sectors. Along the way, he’s gained a deep understanding of project management, leadership and the high-end luxury market. From the very outset, he’s stayed with composites; it’s a rare thing for an engineer to sustain their specialism for so long in one sense, while crossing vertical boundaries in another.  

We’ve asked Paul to share his career story with us, as well as some insights into his success and his markets. Thanks to Paul for sharing his experience. Over to you, Paul! 

Early career and engineering foundations

I’m an engineer by background; I studied a BEng Hons in composite engineering at Plymouth Polytechnic, which was a university by the time I graduated in 1991. I specialised in carbon fibre and GRP, starting out in mechanical engineering and later finding my way into materials. I had a feeling then that composite materials had a great future.

I wasn’t especially academic. I did a BTEC, not A-levels, but once I found engineering, something clicked for me. My sandwich year—doing finite element analysis at SAC Tech (later Ricardo) in Bristol—was a turning point. Before that, I was a typical student. Afterwards, I was a grown up, hungry for work. That year gave me a sense of how professional environments work and changed how I approached my final year.

After graduation, I didn’t land a job straight away. It took six months before I joined GEC Marconi Materials Technology—a big company at the time, now absorbed into what became British Aerospace. I worked on radar-absorbing and radar-transparent materials for defence, all centred around composites. But my biggest takeaway from that time was learning the art of project engineering and project management: working with customers, managing time, delivering to strict project specifications and deadlines.

Project management became a constant theme in my career, and I’ve always been focused on delivery. I remember doing a time management course early on, and I’ve maintained the habit of keeping a logbook, prioritising tasks and using a proper to-do list ever since. I still love ticking things off a to-do list!

Exciting times at McLaren

After six years at Marconi, which included a promotion to Deputy Engineering Manager, I was approached by McLaren Composites. I wasn’t actively looking, but my CV was out in the world. The team was interested in me because I had hands-on experience with composite manufacturing methods. I joined as a Project Engineer just as Ron Dennis signed a deal with Mercedes-Benz for the McLaren-Mercedes SLR—a new GT sports car that would combine supercar performance with mass-production techniques.

I developed the carbon fibre chassis and body, built a team of ten and led the full system development. If there was a problem, I’d put my hand up and say, “I’ll give it a go.” That mindset got me noticed, and once the car went into production I was offered the role of Programme Director.

Working with both the Mercedes and McLaren boards brought its challenges. It was a fast-paced motorsport mindset meeting a big corporate OEM structure—two radically different cultures—and that made for some interesting times!

When the SLR went into production, my focus shifted to building trust, improving quality, reducing costs and managing that cultural divide. In the end, it worked. Mercedes signed off on the full production run, including the coupé and roadster. I led development of the sports edition and lived and breathed the SLR for ten years, from 1999 to 2009.

That was a transitional moment for McLaren. The partnership with Mercedes was coming to an end: they were moving forward with AMG, while McLaren was shifting focus to its own range of lightweight sports cars. Most people from the SLR team moved on but I stayed, with around 50 of us seeing the programme through to the end.

Creating opportunities with McLaren

As that chapter closed, I wasn’t sure what to do next, and thought about leaving. I had a chat with my boss, who came back with a proposal: to set up a bespoke business within McLaren to serve customers who wanted to personalise their cars—think Mulliner at Bentley or Q by Aston Martin.

So I set up McLaren Operations—which became MSO, McLaren Special Operations—with the same team that had just wrapped up the SLR. The team were asking, “What do we do next?”. And this was it. It was brilliant, we all loved it.

Through that work, and the McLaren–Mercedes relationship, I found myself drawn deeper into the world of luxury and high-net-worth individuals. I started going to events, representing McLaren in the press and seeing first-hand how luxury isn’t just about the product—it’s about the entire experience.

Enter the P1: launching an iconic hypercar

At this time, McLaren wanted to build a new hypercar, but the main engineering team was focused on launching the core range, so I was asked to get things moving. I completed the spec book for the P1, set the vision and once again found myself continuing through the programme, eventually becoming Programme Director.

The P1 went on to become one of the most iconic cars of its era. Alongside the Porsche 918 and Ferrari LaFerrari, it formed Top Gear’s so-called “Holy Trinity” of hybrid hypercars. It was a commercial success, too, which led to the P1 GTR programme: a track-only version supported by a global driver development programme. I was Team Principal, and we travelled with the owners to tracks around the world: Barcelona, Texas, Silverstone, Paul Ricard in Marseille. It was an incredibly exciting time.

That programme gave me a real insight into luxury lifestyles. Our clients came from all over: finance, food and beyond. They were Canadians, Americans, Mexicans, Swedes; a really diverse clientele. It became a networking event as much as a driving experience.

From supercars to luxury yachts

Fun as it was, that was the final chapter of my time at McLaren. I’d been there for seventeen years. I’d sat on the board and I was comfortable, but I needed something new. Fortuitously, my old boss Anthony Sheriff, now at Princess Yachts, reached out. He was leading a strategic turnaround with the brand and asked if I’d join as Chief Technical Officer, with a focus on refreshing the product portfolio.

So my family moved from Surrey to Devon. It was a big lifestyle change that, along with the career change, made for a great and positive time. Shifting from automotive to marine was a big transition, but working with a boss I trusted made it a lot easier.

When it comes to the process of product development, there’s a lot of synergy between marine and automotive. The processes are surprisingly similar and while you can’t transfer everything directly, there’s good practice that applies across both sectors. So I reworked some processes from my time in automotive to fit the marine sector. It was a different industry with different volumes and dynamics but the fundamentals were familiar.

Skills you can take anyway

At McLaren I was both a Project Manager and the operational lead for MSO, and one thing I learned is that project management is all about people. Whether you're dealing with the shop floor, a CEO, a board or high-net-worth clients, it’s about reading the room and adapting.

I don’t consider myself intellectually gifted, but I do have strong emotional intelligence. I’ve always believed in treating people the way I’d want to be treated. That principle has carried me through when transitioning between sectors.

Being Programme Director is like being the conductor of an orchestra—you’re not playing the instruments, but you’re helping everyone else play in tune. At McLaren, I worked with brilliant people: aerodynamicists, designers, crash engineers—and it was my job to bring them together and deliver. At Princess, it was more about working with craftspeople—not as many PhDs, but decades of hands-on experience and skill. I think we all did a great job at Princess of refreshing and refocusing the range.

Just before the pandemic, our COO was taken ill; he passed away with COVID complications. He was young and it was a very sad time for everyone. I took on responsibility for operations, which was a big step for me. I led the operations team through COVID and was formally made COO, spending three-and-a-half years in the role until we brought in a more operations-focused leader and I returned to product strategy and technical leadership.

Changing times

Sustainability is the big challenge facing the marine sector now. Boats are powered by 2,000-horsepower diesel engines. If that’s fine today, it won’t be in the future, so the industry has to change and indeed there’s a lot happening. I saw the beginnings of that, and then came another shift when the business was sold to a US-based private equity firm. The CEO was asked to leave, and I followed shortly after. Suddenly, I found myself on gardening leave for six months—being paid to do nothing. It was surreal. I decorated the house, went to New Zealand to see friends, and just took time out.

After 30 years of 60-hour weeks, I was amazed by how quickly I could switch off. People advised me not to rush and they were right. I turned to LinkedIn, a platform I’d used only passively before, and began posting, reflecting and reconnecting. I went through my contacts, identified around 80 people I wanted to speak with, and 50 responded. It was incredibly rewarding.

Everyone I spoke to said the same thing: I had thirty years of product development experience, so why not consult for a while? So I did. I set up my own consultancy, which I ran until Amalgam approached me.

At first, I wasn’t sure Amalgam was the right fit, but I soon recognised that it ticked all the boxes: a team of about 400 globally, a flat structure and incredible attention to detail. We’re trusted by some of the world’s biggest automotive brands to build luxury scale replicas, manufacturing in China, Hungary and the UK. When I was offered the CEO role I questioned whether I have the right skillset, which is natural when you switch to a new market. But three months in, I’m loving it. Everything I’ve learned transfers beautifully.

The luxury market: what is it?

The concept of luxury as a sector in its own right is an interesting one. Luxury isn’t just about product—it’s also how you deliver it. It’s branding, experience and perception. At McLaren, the engineers weren’t thinking about luxury per se, they were thinking, “Let’s build the best car in the world.” That’s what mattered. You give people the environment to do their best work and the result will speak for itself.

The price point is part of what defines luxury, but so is the quality you deliver across all customer touchpoints, and connection is everything. Both the finished product and your aftercare and customer support must be first rate, because nobody expects a sloppy relationship with a luxury brand. Whether it’s models, boats or cars, the key is the relationship you build with the client.

And while people can move between sectors, it's not always easy. Different industries operate at different paces; the automotive sector in particular can be fast and very intense.

Reflections on my career

Gerrell & Hard have asked me to reflect on what I think has made my career tick, and all I can do is talk about what’s worked for me. I think education matters, but I wouldn’t describe myself as an intellectual. There are really two things that I am very clear about having worked for me. One is grabbing any opportunity that presents itself. Being in the right place at the right time helps, but you still have to grab that opportunity and make it work.

The second and probably the biggest factor for me is emotional intelligence. As I’ve said, I’ve always believed in treating people how I’d want to be treated, whether they’re the CEO or the most junior person in the building. If I’m going to be late for a meeting, I always send a message. It's just basic respect that costs nothing. During my recent time away from the industry, many of the people I spoke to were those I’d supported earlier in their career, and they were happy to return the favour and have a chat. How you treat people really matters. You never know who you’ll need to speak to or rely on later in life.

Outside of the workplace, though, I’ve also benefited from an incredibly supportive family who have allowed me to work long hours and move for work when needed. That has been hugely important for me and I’m very, very lucky. 

Thanks very much to Paul for sharing his amazing career story, which is as inspiring as it is instructive!