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Simon Roberts

Born on September 27 1962, Roberts studied mechanical engineering at Manchester University before he got a job with the diesel and gas engine firm Perkins in Peterborough. He became the company's head of manufacturing engineering before moving to the Rover Car Ltd where he was a director in the Powertrain Division and oversaw the company's takeover by BMW in 1994 after which he ran the company's gearbox and suspension operations in the UK until 2000 when he decided to move to Alstom UK as operations director overseeing the development of the company's Pendolino tilting train project. These went into operation in 2001 and Roberts moved on to become the industrial managing director for the firm before deciding to move to McLaren in September 2003 as General Manager, responsible for coordinating the manufacture and assembly process for the race and test team, IT and network communications, transport and logistics, quality, vehicle technology and human resources.