McLaren today confirmed the appointment of Michael Leiters as its new Chief Executive Officer from 1 July 2022. This follows months of rumors about who would take over after Mike Flewitt announced his resignation in October 2021. Last week we named Leiters the most likely candidate, and now it has been confirmed.

Leiters was born in Germany, has a doctorate in engineering, and gained experience at Porsche and Ferrari. He was Ferrari's chief technology officer but was one of three top managers who parted ways with Scuderia Ferrari in late 2021. Therefore, he was one of the main driving forces behind the epic Ferrari 296.

Leiters will be based at McLaren's famous Technology Center and the production facility next to it. He will lead a workforce of roughly 3,000 people globally. His position also puts him at the helm of the McLaren Composites Technology Center. This particular branch of McLaren is responsible for developing new technologies and played a significant role in McLaren's latest high-performance hyper hybrid, the Artura.

As you can imagine, Leiters brings a wealth of experience and know-how with him. Ferrari continually produces some of the best high-performance cars globally, and Leiters might just be what McLaren needs to take the next big step forward.

The big question is whether the new CEO will allow the production of an SUV to go ahead or whether McLaren will remain a super and hypercar producer only?

Leiters takes over from Michael Macht, a non-executive director on the McLaren board, who acted as interim CEO following Flewitt's departure.

"On behalf of everyone at McLaren, I am delighted to welcome Michael as the new CEO of McLaren Automotive. His extensive industry leadership experience combined with his passion for engineering and future technology will help guide and develop our team as we enter an exciting second decade," said Paul Walsh, executive chairman of the McLaren Group.

"I could not be more excited to be joining McLaren Automotive as CEO at this important moment in its journey. McLaren is already recognised as one of the world's most admired luxury supercar companies. I look forward to growing that reputation for our loyal customers, employees, fans and partners as we write the next chapter in McLaren's illustrious history," said Leiters.