The Tees Valley must be “self-confident” in shouting about its qualities, a leading Formula 1 engineer has told business leaders.
Rob Smedley, the head of vehicle performance at the Williams F1 Team, addressed members of the Business Exchange at Teesside University’s Centre for Professional and Executive Development in Darlington.
He then spoke to Teesside University staff at their annual Working with Business conference.
Smedley, who is originally from Normanby and was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Professional Studies by Teesside University in 2009, spoke about his career in motor-racing and how the same qualities which make a successful racing team, such as a constant pursuit of perfection, continual innovation and competitor knowledge, can be applied in business.
He also spoke about his love for the Tees Valley and the importance of STEM subjects in education.
“There are so many great things going on in Teesside and I think we need the self-confidence to shout about them and change people’s perceptions of the area,” said Smedley.
“I think the whole F1 community is very, very interested in education.
“We’ve started lots of initiatives at Williams Grand Prix in order to get the education community and younger people involved and interested, not only in Formula 1, which is something that most young people are interested in anyway, but in engineering in general and in the STEM subjects.