Our Team
A wealth of experience
HFQ Technology Associates is recognised as a global leader in light-weighting, with unparalleled expertise in the field of aluminium hot forming and its application into cost-effective and sustainable structures. Our team has a strong blend of technical and commercial skills and experience covering international automotive, industrial and aerospace sectors.
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Management Team
Jonathan Watkins
Executive Chairman
Jonathan has over 30 years of experience in commercialising technology in the international automotive, industrial and cleantech sectors, having held senior commercial and operational leadership positions in Federal-Mogul, Textron, and most recently, Ceres Power. He is a Chartered Engineer with a Bachelor’s in Materials Science & Technology from the University of Birmingham, and a Masters in Manufacturing, Design & Management from the University of Cambridge.
Rex Vevers
Non-Executive Director
Rex is an experienced Group Finance Director who has led public and private companies in sectors including technology, IT, FMCG and financial services. He is a qualified Corporate Treasurer with a proven ability to raise equity/debt funding and successfully complete M&A and corporate venturing deals. Previously, Rex set up and sold a software development company and has been a Non-Executive Director of a VC-backed software company.
Bruce Girvan
Non-Executive Advisor – IP & Licensing
Bruce has over 30 years’ experience in developing and commercialising technology in the international energy, low carbon and materials sectors. Bruce has honed his skills in commercialisation in Schlumberger, BP (Atlantic Richfield), Avon Rubber and Ceres Power. He holds an MBA from Imperial College London, a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Brunel University, and is a Chartered Engineer of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
John Sellors
Managing Director
John has over 30 years’ experience in the automotive materials and process sector, and previously led the Metallic Materials and Manufacturing Group at Lotus Engineering. John has built a strong global reputation for his expertise on materials and process specification, design for manufacture, vehicle lightweighting and applied R&D. John has been instrumental in the delivery of projects from niche supercars for AML, to steel-bodied vehicles for China. He has a degree in Metallurgy from Brunel University and is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
Technical Experts
Dr. Mohamed Mohamed
Head of Simulation and Modelling Technology Development
Mohamed holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and has extensive experience in sheet metal forming and material modelling, including roles at Imperial College London and the Advanced Forming Research Centre. Mohamed is a specialist in failure mechanics, computational plasticity, and microstructure evolution modelling and is currently the Chairman of the Institute of Sheet Metal Engineering (ISME).
Dr. Richard Hunt
Head of Metallurgy and Materials Characterisation
Richard has over 13 years’ experience in applied aluminium R&D in UK, Europe, and the USA. Richard has developed and industrialised innovative new alloy products in collaboration with customers, universities, and third parties in many industrial sectors including automotive and aerospace. A specialist in aluminium metallurgy, microstructure, and characterisation, Richard holds a Master’s Degree and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering.
Jonathan Swift
Senior Engineer – Applications, Process Engineering, Tooling & IT Systems
Jonathan has over 12 years’ experience with aluminium hot forming technologies, inlcuidng over 6 years working with HFQ, coupled with a First Class BSc (Hons) from Birmingham City University, and is a Chartered Engineer with the IMechE. He has worked on design for manufacture and process design and simulation for some of the most prestigious automotive companies in the world, in addition to global aerospace and rail sector projects. Jonathan also worked in the Body Structures team at Jaguar Land Rover designing the new Land Rover Defender. Jonathan is passionate about mentoring new engineers and enjoys delivering technical training to our engineering licensees and partners.
Mihaela-Aurelia Badiu
Senior Engineer – Applications, Process Simulation & 3D Modelling
Mihaela has over a decade of experience in the sheet metal stampings industry, with extensive expertise in CAD design, process simulation, and technical analysis across the automotive and aerospace industries. She holds a Masters in Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering, and a Bachelors in Machine Manufacturing from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (Galati, Romania).
Mihaela excels in managing complex forming simulation projects, optimizing production processes, and mentoring engineering teams. Having worked for Matrite Automobile Dacia S.A. (Stamping Dies Division) and Cosma Die Technology (Magna International CDT UK), Mihaela conducted surface modelling in CATIA and full-process forming simulation for both A-Class and structural parts.
Dave Poyner
HFQ Applications Engineering
Dave has over 55 years’ of experience in the automotive industry and has worked for a wide range of OEMs and tier 1’s including Toyota, Ford, Honda, Renault and Lotus Engineering.
Dave specialises in part and tool design for HFQ Technology and has a vast amount of experience related to assembly, GD&T, and design for manufacture.
Craig Edwards
Materials Evaluation Center Manager
Craig has 18 years’ experience as an Industrial Chemist, including military and commercial aerospace projects with Meggitt. He spent 10 years in the Defence Industry with Morgan Advanced Materials (NP Aerospace), working primarily on vehicle and personal ballistic protection. For the last 6 years he has been working for Impression Technologies Ltd and now HFQ Technology Associates as our Materials Evaluation Centre Manager.
Mohammed Ismaael
Materials Evaluation Technician
Ish began his career with HFQ Technology in 2019 and has always had a passion for engineering. He has over 7 years of experience dedicated to building a strong foundation in material testing, characterisation, and metrology systems. He won the prestigious Lloyds Banking SME Apprentice of The Year Award in 2023 and the Made in The Midlands 2024 Apprentice of The Year. Ish is an apprentice ambassador for HFQ Technology Associates at the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centre (AMTC).
Professor Jianguo Lin
Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London
Professor Lin is a world authority on materials processing and the inventor of the hot form quench process (HFQ®) for aluminium. He has led extensive research in the fields of Materials and process modelling, Solid/Computational mechanics, which includes micro-mechanics modelling, and its application in creep-damage, cyclic-plasticity-damage, viscoplasticity and advanced metal forming technologies. Professor Lin provides technical input to new innovations and supports international partnerships.
Simon Corbett
Principal Programme Manager
Simon Corbett has over 25 years of technical programme delivery experience, following a long career with Lotus Engineering. Having overseen major R&D grant programmes with budgets up to $15m, he is a specialist in managing highly complex and multi-party initiatives lasting from several months to three years. He leads the management of major commercial demonstration and grant programmes for HFQ Technology Associates.
Dr. Sabrina Yan
Senior Technical Programme Manager
Sabrina holds a bachelor’s degree and PhD in Material Science and Engineering, and has extensive experience in advanced materials characterisations. She has been working with HFQ since 2021 as a Technical Programme Manager, leading all Chinese programme workstreams including: working with clients and HFQ partners, technical support, technology transfer training, and business development.
Business Development
Tim McGuire
Business Development Manager, Aerospace Global
Tim has 40+ years of experience in applications engineering, marketing, product development with most markets, and a focus on automotive and aerospace. He has developed six product patents and holds a master’s degree in business. Based near Chicago in Illinois, USA, he has been working with HFQ® since 2017.
Zhutao Shao
Business Development, China
Zhutao holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London. He has worked on the technology development, marketing strategies, and partners for the HFQ® Technology for 10 years. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy, and an Enterprise Fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering. He also holds a degree in economics, and has successfully completed all three levels of the CFA® Program.