Caterham Cars has appointed former Nissan global sportscar programme director, Bob Laishley, as its new chief strategy officer. The appointment is the first under new Caterham owner, VT Holdings, which acquired the British lightweight sportscar brand earlier this month.
Laishley is a trained engineer by training, with a track-record in developing and delivering innovative new products during his more than 25 years spent at Nissan. During his tenure he held various roles at the brand, including as programme director for OEM collaborations and its sports car division. It was the latter role in which, from 2014, he oversaw the application of the marque’s NISMO expertise to mainstream performance road cars and held responsibility for the GT-R and Z programmes.
“Caterham is a very special brand, with a very special product that has been a benchmark for handling and performance, so it was not a difficult decision to take up the offer from Takahashi-san and the board at VT Holdings,” said Laishley. “The first priority is to protect and develop the Seven so that it can continue to meet the expectations of our customer base in the immediate years.”
“I have ideas, but so do the team,” he added. “We’re now focused on appraising those collectively and building a clear roadmap for the business for the next decade. The Caterham DNA of lightness and fun is unique in the automotive world and that’s the key ingredient on which we will sensibly build.”
