David Jewell DBA, BSc (Hons) MCMI

David Jewell DBA, BSc (Hons) MCMI

Dr. David Jewell is a highly accomplished senior technical leader with extensive experience in strategic planning, techno-economics, advanced manufacturing, innovation, and research & development. With decades of hands-on engineering experience spanning the shop floor to executive boardrooms, he combines deep technical expertise with strong commercial acumen to transform complex engineering operations into scalable, high-performance businesses. His career spans highly regulated and technologically demanding industries including Formula One, renewable energy, medical devices, and advanced automotive manufacturing.

He is recognized for leading multidisciplinary teams, managing large-scale CAPEX investments, and delivering operational excellence through digital transformation, industrial innovation (Industry 4.0), and lean manufacturing methodologies. Driven by fiscal responsibility and customer satisfaction, he consistently delivers projects on time and within budget while building long-term strategic value.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

David Jewell currently serves in senior leadership roles within the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he has held positions including Director of Manufacturing & Technology Partnerships and Senior Manager of Manufacturing & Technology Partnerships. In these roles, he has led renewable energy technology oversight across Solar PV, Wind, Hydrogen, and BESS systems, managed giga-factory localization programs valued at over USD 4 billion, and overseen capital expenditure programs exceeding USD 10 billion for industrial electrolyzer deployment. He has also driven strategic partnerships with global OEMs and EPCs while supporting the development of large-scale Green Hydrogen initiatives.

Previously, at ENOWA (a PIF company), he led the definition and design of a fully automated 2.2GW electrolyzer gigafactory and served as advisor to the Saudi Ministry of Energy on localization and supply chain strategy. He chaired Industry 4.0 working groups involving senior government stakeholders and managed advanced hydrogen research programs within NEOM’s Hydrogen Innovation Development Centre.

At Ceres Power Ltd, he served as Advanced Manufacturing Manager and interim Manufacturing Portfolio Director, reporting directly to the CTO. He led the development of manufacturing technology roadmaps, implemented digital manufacturing maturity frameworks, and introduced high-precision fibre laser drilling technology, delivering measurable efficiency gains. His leadership improved testing capability by 100% and enhanced R&D governance through structured methodologies such as PDCA and SOFTE.

As Head of Manufacturing Operations at Alexander Dennis Ltd, he acted as General Manager in the absence of the Operations Director, managing multi-million-pound budgets and global manufacturing teams across several countries. He improved production efficiency by 20% within six months through lean implementation, reduced operational expenditure by 22%, and led supply chain negotiations and new product industrialization programs from concept to scalable production.

Earlier in his career, at the National Composites Centre, he led high-volume automated manufacturing programs and secured funding through successful UKRI industrial strategy bids. He delivered collaborative R&D programs for leading automotive manufacturers including Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren, Nissan, and Bentley.

At Gordon Murray Design, he led advanced composite R&D programs, secured £2 million in competitive funding, and developed innovative automated manufacturing technologies for next-generation vehicle platforms. His contributions included patented lightweight composite structures and crash safety systems.

Dr. Jewell began his engineering career in elite motorsport with McLaren, progressing through technical and leadership roles in composite R&D and aerodynamic testing before moving into senior manufacturing and innovation leadership positions.