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 David Richards CBE
Chairman and Chief Executive, Prodrive
After studying accountancy, David became a professional rally co-driver, competing for the factory Leyland, Opel and Ford teams. Whilst with Ford, he co-drove Ari Vatanen to victory in the British and Scandinavian Championships, and finished his competition career by winning the World Rally Championship title with Vatanen in 1981.
Following the 1981 season, David devoted his time to developing his business interests, which led to the formation of his own rally team and the creation of Prodrive in 1984. The company established its headquarters in Banbury, Oxfordshire, where, under David's direction, it has grown into a world leading independent motorsport and automotive technology business, with operations on four continents, employing more than 1000 staff and with annual sales in excess of $250 million.
Since 1984, Prodrive has won more than 200 international motorsport events, as well as six World Rally titles with Subaru; five British Touring Car championships with BMW, Alfa Romeo and Ford; and a class win at Le Mans with Ferrari in 2003 and Aston Martin in 2007. In 2004, the BAR Honda F1 team, managed by Prodrive, finished runners up in the F1 Constructors' Championship. Today, Prodrive oversees the Subaru World Rally Team, Aston Martin's sports car racing programme, as well as the Ford Performance Racing Team in Australia.
In addition to its motorsport programmes, Prodrive also undertakes a wide range of projects for the automotive industry based at its test track near Warwick in the UK as well as at facilities in Australia and the Far East. David sits on the advisory board of the Warwick Business School, is a trustee of the British Racing Drivers' Club Benevolent Fund and is a vice president of BEN, the automotive industry's benevolent fund. He is also a member of the Motorsport Industry Association committee and Motorsport Development UK. In the 2005 New Years' honours, he was made a Commander of the British Empire, CBE, for his services to motorsport.
In March 2007, David led a consortium that purchased Aston Martin from Ford resulting in David being appointed as the chairman of this iconic British sports car manufacturer.
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