Jaguar Land Rover CEO Prof Sir Ralf Speth Elected Fellow Of The Royal Society

Prof Sir Ralf Speth, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Executive, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. The honour is in recognition of Sir Ralf’s advocacy for UK research and development and his commitment to STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education, said the company in a statement.

Sir Ralf joins a worldwide cohort of exceptional scientists, who have been selected by the Royal Society for their outstanding contributions to scientific understanding. Their ranks include six Nobel laureates, as well as internationally recognized leaders in industry and science policy. Active since 1660, the Royal Society is a fellowship of many of the world's most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.

Sir Ralf said: “I am honoured to have been elected to the Royal Society for activities that are close to my heart and fundamental to the society.”

“Mobility will see more change in the next ten years than the last century. Through collaboration and continuous investment in R&D we can lead the transition into connected, seamless integrated private-public mobility systems. We will do this with a clear focus on our Destination Zero mission:  zero emissions, zero accidents and zero congestion. Our ambition is to make societies safer and healthier, and our environment cleaner. 

“To achieve this, we must inspire a diverse range of talent and nurture the next generation of bright minds, who are the world’s workforce of tomorrow.” 

Sir Ralf has led the transformation of Jaguar Land Rover from a niche UK manufacturer to a global premium business and respected leader in automotive technologies. Under his stewardship, the company became the first premium automotive manufacturer to design and engineer an all-electric performance SUV, the ground-breaking Jaguar I-PACE.

Over the past ten years, Sir Ralf has been committed to the development of STEM education at all levels.The company operates its own Jaguar Land Rover Academy. Working in partnership with a number of universities, schools, colleges and other education providers, the academy increases student engagement in STEM and promotes career opportunities. Since its launch, Jaguar Land Rover’s schools programme has engaged with over 4.7 million young people globally.  

Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society, said: “At this time of global crisis, the importance of scientific thinking, and the medicines, technologies and insights it delivers, has never been clearer. Our Fellows and Foreign Members are central to the mission of the Royal Society, to use science for the benefit of humanity.

“While election to the Fellowship is a recognition of exceptional individual contributions to the sciences, it is also a network of expertise that can be drawn on to address issues of societal, and global significance. This year’s Fellows and Foreign Members have helped shape the 21st century through their work at the cutting-edge of fields from human genomics, to climate science and machine learning.  

“It gives me great pleasure to celebrate these achievements, and those yet to come, and welcome them into the ranks of the Royal Society.