Unpacking High Performance: From the Racetrack to the Boardroom

Just the third Team Principal in Atlassian Williams Racing’s 48-year history, James Vowles is leading the transformation of the team in pursuit of future Championship success. He joined Atlassian Williams Racing in 2023 from Mercedes, the latest step in a 24-year Formula 1 career in which James has been instrumental in securing 9 F1 Constructors’ Championships (with Brawn GP and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team), 8 Drivers’ Championships and has overseen over 120 race victories for the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Valtteri Bottas.

James spent 12 years at the Mercedes F1 team, the last 4 as Motorsport Strategy Director. Before that he fulfilled key engineering and strategy roles at Mercedes and, before joining the German marque, worked at its predecessor teams Brawn GP, Honda Racing and British American Racing.

He played a crucial role at Brawn, overseeing the race strategy that saw Jenson Button secure the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship Driver’s title and the team take the Constructors’ Championship. He stayed at the team’s Brackley base as it transitioned into Mercedes from the 2010 season playing an integral role in the team’s many successes.

Born in the UK, Vowles attended the International School of Geneva, graduating in 1997. He went on to the University of East Anglia, obtaining a degree in computer science with mathematics in 2000, followed by a master’s degree in Motorsport Engineering and Management from Cranfield University in 2001, receiving the Prodrive Award of Excellence.

Sir Ben Ainslie is the founder and CEO of Athena Sports Group, the high-performance sports business that includes the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team, the British America’s Cup Team ‘Athena Racing’ and the Athena Pathway development programme.

Known globally as the world’s most successful Olympic sailor (1996–2012, 4 x Gold and 1 x Silver) and America’s Cup winner (2013), Ben also became the first person to purchase a franchise from SailGP, with Athena Sports Group now owning 60% of the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team. Ben is also a competitive racer and most recently led Britain in the 37th America’s Cup, achieving the best result of a British America’s Cup team in 90 years.

As Team Principal of the British America’s Cup Team, the challenging entity representing Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd and the Challenger of Record for the 38th America’s Cup, he was also instrumental in the creation of the historic America’s Cup Partnership, a groundbreaking collaboration that further elevates the sport’s global profile and legacy by establishing a joint governing structure for the competing teams.

Ben’s work has driven engineering innovation, inspired a generation of young people to pursue STEM careers and secured high levels of investment for his sport. His mantra is ‘never give up and never stop innovating’. He is proof of what can be achieved when you channel talent, instinct and determination to reach your goals.