Senior leadership team - Motion Applied

Nick Fry

Non-executive chairman

Nick Fry joined Motion Applied as Non Executive Chairman in September 2021. As Chairman, Nick is tasked with leading Applied's continued growth in key markets, including motorsport, automotive, and connected intelligence.

Alongside his role at Motion Applied Nick was the founder of Stonehaven Partners which provides commercial advice and consulting services to a variety of automotive and high performance sectors.

Prior to joining Applied, Nick was Chief Executive Officer for the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team and was instrumental in the sale of the team to Daimler and the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. He has also held CEO roles at Brawn GP which won the F1 Drivers and Constructors World Championship, the Honda Racing F1 Team and British American Racing. Prior to F1, Nick was CEO of the Subaru World Rally Team and won the World Rally Championship on two occasions.

Nick began his career at Ford where he held numerous senior operational roles in Product Development, Marketing and Manufacturing as well as becoming Managing Director at Aston Martin where he was responsible for the development of the Aston Martin DB7, a model which transformed the fortunes of the company.

Nick has a degree in Economics and a Doctorate from Cranfield University.

Samir Maha

CEO

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As Chief Executive Officer at Motion Applied, Samir has responsibility for our Business Units, spanning all aspects of their operations including Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Engineering, and Manufacturing.

Samir has more than twenty years of management experience working with industrial companies in multiple sectors. He joined Motion Applied in 2021 from Babcock International Group plc, the Defence and Security company, where he spent eight years in a variety of senior roles including responsibility for the Fleet Management and Emergency Services businesses within the Land Sector and the role of Corporate Development Director for the Support Services Division. He previously spent eight years as a Consultant with McKinsey & Company based in London and Dubai working across strategy, organisation and operational topics for multiple clients. He also worked for five years at Lafarge SA in Paris as Vice President of Development for the Global Aggregates business, leading on strategic growth and restructuring across thirty countries.

Samir started his career as a Graduate Engineer with Ford Motor Company and Aston Martin. He holds an MEng in Engineering, Economics and Management from the University of Oxford and an MBA in General Management from INSEAD in France.

Richard Saxby

Director, Motorsport

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Richard has been making significant contributions to Motorsport since 1999, accumulating ten F1 World Constructors Championships. He has lent his expertise to teams such as Red Bull Racing and Renault F1, and most recently, he has served as the Head of Research and Development at Mercedes AMG F1.

Richard's journey began with a degree in Electronic Engineering, which paved the way for his initial role as a Graduate R&D Engineer at Stewart GP. His career then led him to the pit lane, where he operated as a Trackside Engineer, managing teams at Renault F1. Subsequently, he transitioned to factory-based operations at Mercedes in Brackley.

Currently, as the Director of Motorsport at Motion Applied, Richard leverages this experience and understanding of customer needs. He is committed to ensuring that Motorsport teams worldwide are equipped with the latest technology that Motion Applied has to offer. His focus on delivery and quality upholds the high standards of that the Motorsport industry is known for.

Pablo Garcia Lopez

Director, Connected Intelligence

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Pablo leads our Connected Intelligence business, which specialises in bringing F1 tech to the transport and mobility sector, namely 5G edge connectivity.

Pablo is a mobility tech and innovation leader with twelve years of experience across Europe. He has been a leader of business strategies for 20+ transport organisations and led 10+ innovation projects across Europe. He also co-founded two start-ups in the field of Smart Mobility.

He joined Motion Applied in 2020 from HS2, where he managed a multi-million innovation portfolio and set up the first public/private accelerator for high-speed rail start-ups worldwide. Pablo has a background in Civil Engineering and Data Science and speaks four languages.

Paolo Bargiacchi

Director, Electrification

As Director of the Electrification business at Motion Applied, Paolo is responsible for leading the growth of our electrification solutions across the Automotive, Aerospace, Commercial Vehicle and Maritime industries and for exploitation of our company-wide capabilities in Defence.

Paolo has more than a decade of experience in automotive and electrification, having started his career in R&D Engineering at Jaguar Land Rover before moving to commercial and strategic roles within Product Management. He joined Motion Applied in 2021 from Bentley Motors, where he was responsible for their Mulliner special vehicles product portfolio.

Paolo holds a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sheffield and an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology.

Harry Lowe

Finance director

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As Finance Director, Harry is responsible for all financial aspects of the organisation including strategic planning, financial control, liquidity management, securing investment, financial risk management and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.

Harry joined Motion Applied in December 2022. Prior to joining Motion Applied, he worked in the hospitality sector at Caffe Nero and Heartwood Inns. Harry also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Cardiff and achieved his chartered accountancy status through ICAEW.

Mark Hanna

Commercial director

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Mark joined Motion Applied in early 2021 having spent much of his career in the consulting and construction sectors. Prior to joining, his roles included a lengthy tenure at a global, UK-based infrastructure company and five years in a leadership position at Capgemini spanning multiple territories. He has worked on a number of projects focused on developing early stage, cutting-edge technology solutions, and shaping them into strong, market-ready commercial offerings.

Having previously headed up the Commercial function within Motion Applied, Mark's responsibilities have grown and now encompass Commercial, Legal, and Quality. As a seasoned commercial leader with a background in commercial finance, Mark's key role is to assist in the evolution and realisation of Motion Applied's development and growth ambitions.

Matt Kitchin

Director of products, programmes, and engineering

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As Director of Products, Programmes and Engineering at Motion Applied, Matt is responsible for our Motorsport product portfolio, new product development programmes and engineering functions.

Matt has more than twenty years of experience in product development and manufacturing operations, gained across multiple industries including consumer electronics, power generation and electric powertrain development. He joined Motion Applied in 2017 from Ceres Power where he was responsible for Fuel Cell R&D programmes. Previously, Matt was Head of R&D and Manufacturing Operations at Orbitsound, a consumer audio brand, where he led the development and launch of multiple new products and managed manufacturing operations in Asia. Matt also spent seven years with Nokia in a variety of roles that included implementation of new manufacturing facilities, operational process improvement and managing outsourced product development in Europe and Asia.

Matt began his career at Dyson where he spent seven years designing and developing new products and managing R&D teams. He holds an MEng degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southampton, has trained as a Six Sigma Blackbelt and holds professional qualifications in project management.

Matt Christie

Business technology director

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Matt Christie has held the role of Business Technology Director at Motion Applied since joining in June 2019. He is responsible for the strategic IT roadmap, operational IT services, business systems, IT programme and project delivery, and Information Security & certifications, and their associated staffing and budgets.

Before joining Motion Applied, Matt spent 14 years working all over the world for a multi-national defence contractor, and prior to that he spent 3 years working in IT in the Finance sector whilst based in Brisbane, Australia. Matt holds a Batchelor’s degree in Computer Science, and a variety of industry certifications.

Dave Strudwick

Operations director

Currently serving as Operations Director, Dave is responsible for our manufacturing operation, ensuring its efficiency and effectiveness. His duties include developing and implementing operational plans and overseeing the production, supply chain, and logistics functions. Dave continues to champion innovation, continuous improvement, and operational excellence in an ever-evolving business.

Prior to joining Motion Applied in August 2017, Dave gained over 20 years of experience spanning supply chain, manufacturing and production planning, and is passionate about aligning day-to-day execution with long-term strategic goals.

Lynette Prag

HR director

Lynette is responsible for the company's people strategy and organisational development. With over 19 years of HR experience across the technology, energy, education, and staffing sectors, she leads with a commercially focused and people-centric approach to building high-performing teams and cultures.

Lynette rejoined Motion Applied in 2024 after serving as HR Director at Ballistic Moon, an independent game studio, where she supported the leadership team through a period of significant organisational change. Prior to that, she held several senior HR roles at McLaren Applied over a nine-year period, including Head of HR and HR Business Partner, leading HR support for teams across the UK and US.

Earlier in her career, she held HR roles at Allegis Group, ACS International Schools, and Thames Water/npower, gaining broad experience in multi-site operations, employee engagement, and strategic workforce planning. Lynette holds a BSc (Hons) in Sociology with Human Resource Management from the University of Bath and is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.