George Gillespie, OBE, joined MIRA, UK in January 2009 as CEO and led the turnaround in MIRA fortunes with over 100% growth in the business and a growing international presence. In 2015 he led the sale of MIRA to HORIBA Japan and is now President for HORIBA’s automotive division headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. Dr Gillespie is also a Senior Corporate Officer of HORIBA Ltd, Japan.

In addition to his work at HORIBA MIRA, Dr Gillespie chaired the Intelligent Connected Vehicles Group within the UK Automotive Council from 2014 to 2018 leading the activities relating to intelligent and connected vehicles. The UK Automotive Council is a joint industry / government body that leads the development of the UK Automotive sector industrial strategy and Dr Gillespie led the development of a coherent national strategy to ensure the UK is a leading European location for the development and deployment of connected and autonomous vehicles. He represented the UK at the 2016 G7 Summit on Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.

Building on a PhD from Queen’s University, Belfast for research into low emission engines, Dr Gillespie has over 30 years international experience in the automotive and marine product development sectors having been VP Strategic Product Development at HORIBA Europe GmbH and previously held senior roles with Ricardo plc and Schenck AG. He has worked extensively in the UK, Germany, USA, Japan and China.

Dr Gillespie is a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and is currently President of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). He has previously served as a Board Member of both the Coventry & Warwickshire LEP and the Leicestershire LEPs in the UK.