Alumobility, a non-profit organisation focused on providing innovative implementation-ready solutions to advance the adoption of aluminium automotive body sheet, announced today that Mark White has been appointed executive director. White will lead the organisation, which was recently founded by Constellium and Novelis, providing strategic guidance to the ecosystem’s marketing and technical work streams. He will report to the board of directors.

With more than 30 years of automotive experience, predominately at Jaguar Land Rover, White has held a variety of leadership roles in body engineering, design, research, vehicle manufacturing processes and electrification. Throughout his career, he has focused on reducing overall vehicle weight, particularly in the car body and related systems, through the application of lightweight materials and part integration to achieve better performance at a lower cost.

“The opportunity to lead Alumobility and continue to demonstrate that aluminium is the material of choice for not only lightweighting, but also high-strength applications, electrification and a more sustainable mobility future is an exciting chapter for me personally, as well as the aluminium industry,” said Mark White, Executive Director, Alumobility. “As the ecosystem continues to grow and new technical work is commissioned, I am confident we will complement the efforts of our industry partners and create new value for OEMs.”

Under White’s direction, Alumobility will release the results of several technical studies this year and commence new projects that support the adoption of aluminium auto body sheet. The first studies demonstrate the weight savings and performance of aluminium doors and b-pillars. White will also promote the mission of Alumobility and the expansion of the ecosystem through potential new members, including downstream technology partners such as forming and joining experts.

“The appointment of Mark as our executive director brings passion, expertise and credibility to the Alumobility ecosystem,” said Pierre Labat, President of Alumobility. “His understanding of the automotive industry, deep technical knowledge of automotive aluminium and ability to engage collaborative teams of engineers, makes him the ideal leader for this initiative.”

White received an Honors Degree in Automotive Design from Coventry University and was awarded a Doctor of Engineering in 2011 for work on lightweight structures. He is a Professor at Brunel University London and the Industry Advisory Board Chairman for the Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology (BCAST).