2019 ALL STAR | CEO, EXOTIC
MIKE FLEWITT
CEO,
McLaren Automotive
McLaren Automotive shares a noticeable trait with its hand-built vehicles.
Speed.
That pace begins with CEO Mike Flewitt, the British executive who has been in his current role since 2013. Flewitt, 57, joined the British exotic brand after a career that has included manufacturing roles at TRW Group, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Ford of Europe.
Under his direction, McLaren’s global sales have expanded rapidly — no sure thing when the starting prices begin around $200,000 and rise up to multimillions — and without the volume assistance of SUVs that have helped other exotic and ultraluxury brands in recent years. Flewitt has been adamant that a McLaren SUV is simply not in the cards.
In 2018, McLaren sold 4,806 vehicles globally, a surge of 44 percent. Just three years earlier, that figure was 1,654. McLaren’s first deliveries began less than a decade ago, in 2011.
So what’s driving all that growth? Products.
Under McLaren’s Track25 business plan, which began in 2018, the brand wants to launch 18 new models and derivatives by the end of 2024. Six nameplates, including the GT, Speedtail hypercar and Elva roadster, have been identified from it.