J Mays, Ford Motor Company, vice president of Design

J Mays, Ford Motor Company, vice president of Design

J Mays is Ford Motor Company, vice president of Design, responsible for shaping the design direction of Ford, Mazda, Mercury, Lincoln, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin. Mays joined Ford and was elected to his present position Oct. 1, 1997.

Since joining Ford Motor Company, Mays has completed the development of several new production models including the Ford GT40, the 2002 Ford Thunderbird and the all-new 2002 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer. He has also led the development of several concept vehicles including the Ford Forty-Nine, Jaguar F-Type and Volvo Safety Car Concept. He has also played an instrumental role in the redesign of the Ford Motor Company auto show display stand.

Prior to joining Ford, Mays served as vice president of Design Development at SHR Perceptual Management of Scottsdale, Ariz. from 1995 to 1997.

Following graduation in 1980 from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. Mays began his career as an exterior designer with Audi AG in Ingolstadt, Germany, where he was recognized for the design of the Audi 80.

In 1983, Mays moved to BMW AG in Munich, Germany to work on exterior design proposals for the BMW 5 and 8 series.

Mays returned to Audi in 1984 as a senior designer. He was manager of exterior design and was responsible for developing aerodynamic research vehicles for Audi Rally/Trans Am programs. He also worked to develop full-scale model proposals for the Audi 100, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Polo and Audi Cabrio. In addition, Mays designed the Audi AVUS concept car.

After spending the first part of his career in Germany, Mays came back to the U.S. in 1989 to work as the chief designer in Volkswagen of America's Design Center in Simi Valley, Calif.

He worked to establish a design center infrastructure including facilities and equipment needed for development of full-scale exterior and interior models. He was also responsible for the design and branding of the Volkswagen Concept 1, which later became the new Beetle.

In 1993, Mays returned to Audi AG in Germany as design director responsible for worldwide Audi design strategy, development and execution, before moving direction in his career by joining SHR.

Mays has received numerous professional awards and recognition for his work. Mays' design career will be the subject of an exhibition called "Retrofuturism: The Car Design of J Mays" at the Geffen Contemporary of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in November 2002. He received the Harvard Design School annual Excellence in Design Award in February 2002. In September 2002, Mays received the Don Kubly Professional Attainment Award from the Art Center College of Design.

Mays was born Oct. 15, 1954 in Pauls Valley, Okla.