Ralph Debbas
Ralph R. Debbas (born 1988) is a Middle Eastern automotive entrepreneur, designer, and businessman. He is best known as the CEO of W Motors, which he founded in 2012, and the designer of the Lykan HyperSport.
Ralph Debbas | |
---|---|
Born | 1987 (age 32–33)[1] |
Nationality | Lebanese |
Other names | Ralph R. Debbas |
Education | Lebanon American University Coventry University[2] |
Occupation | CEO of W Motors |
Years active | 2006-present |
Employer | W Motors |
Known for | Founding W Motors |
Board member of | Chairman and CEO of W Motors |
Awards | 2009 New Designer of Excellence Trophee de L’Argus[3] 2013 The Visionary Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 The Luxury Arab World Award BIAF 2015 Award[4] 2019 Automotive CEO of the Year[5] 40 And Under 40[6] |
Website | Official website |
Signature | |
Early life and education
Debbas was born in Lebanon in 1987 to a family of industrialists.[6][7]
Debbas studied economics and began to study graphic design at the Lebanese American University.[4][8] He quit his graphic design course to study automotive design, which he studied with honours at Coventry University[2][4] after turning down an offer from the Pratt Institute in the USA.[9]
Career in the automotive industry
Before starting development of W Motors, Debbas worked as a designer for Land Rover[10] and Aston Martin.[10][11]
In 2009, Debbas launched Wolf Design and Innovation Group (WDI Group), of which he was listed as Executive Head of Design.[12] WDI Group worked on a variety of projects including boats, furniture and interior design, consumer goods, and graphic/web design,[13] and was active in Beirut and Paris.[14]
He began development of W Motors and design of the Lykan in 2006,[7] and in 2008 had several design projects sponsored by the European Union.[15] W Motors was officially founded in 2012[16] with the launch of the Lykan HyperSport.[11] It is the first Middle Eastern car manufacturer, making Debbas the first automotive executive in the Middle East.[2] According to Debbas, the Lykan HyperSport was deliberately extravagant because:
If I had launched an affordable car from the Middle East, nobody would have talked about it… But when you create a shock by selling a $3.4m car – and back in 2013 it was the most expensive car in the world – people will talk, whether it’s negative or positive.[17]
He contributed to the design of the ICONIQ Model 7.[18] The Fenyr SuperSport followed with production beginning in 2018, but was not designed by Debbas.[19]
Debbas launched the W Motors consultancy division in 2019, which now makes up 70% of the company's business.[17] As of 2020, he owns shares and is a director of W Motors Automotive Group Holding Limited.[20] He continues as the CEO and chairman of W Motors S.A.L.[8]
Views on the automotive industry
Debbas has often spoken on the future of the transportation industry, particularly the impact of automation and electrification on vehicle ownership and manufacture.[17]
Debbas believes that electrification of cars will become widespread and that as the development of self-driving technology advances, traditional car ownership will decline to the point were road transport is provided in a manner he compares to airlines: the role and importance of manufacturers will decline, and cars will be owned by providers.[17][21] Because of this, he predicts his son Karl (born 2016) will never need to or may be unable to own a car or hold a driver's license.[17][21]
He has stated that the Middle East has great potential for a local automotive industry, but lack of relevant knowledge in the region is a limiting factor.[22]
Awards
Debbas has been the recipient of several business and design awards during his career.
Year | Award | Conferred by | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | New Designer of Excellence | ND London | [2] |
Trophee de L’Argus | ARGUS Paris | ||
2013 | The Visionary Entrepreneur of the Year | CCS | [4] |
2015 | The Luxury Arab World Award | Luxury Arab World | |
BIAF Award | Beirut International Awards Festivals | ||
2019 | Automotive CEO of the Year | CEO Middle East Awards | [23] |
40 And Under 40 | Arabian Business | [6] |
Personal life
Debbas has an extensive personal collection of cars produced in the 1990s.[17]
References
- Parasie, Nicholas (2020-02-19). "Dubai Maker of $3.4 Million Supercar Seeks Funds to Go Electric". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- Gallina, Eric; 2012 (2012-12-27). "W Motors: The First Arab Supercar". Form Trends. Archived from the original on 2019-05-11. Retrieved 2019-12-03.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- "Ralph Debbas". Arab Fashion Council. Archived from the original on 2018-09-08. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
- "Ralph R Debbas". World Usability Congress. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
- "Ralph R. Debbas Automotive CEO of the year". W Motors Blog. 2019-10-03. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
- "40 Under 40 2019 Ralph Debbas". ArabianBusiness.com. 2019. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
- "Meet Ralph Debbas the man behind the new FENYR SuperSport and Chairman of W Motors". A&E Magazine. 2015-11-18. Archived from the original on 2019-05-17. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
- Debbas, Ralph. "Founder & CEO". W Motors. Archived from the original on 2019-11-09. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
- "Life in the fast lane" (PDF). Rise. 2017. pp. 34–37. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- Derhally, Massoud (2013-01-13). "W Motors to make $3.4m sports car in UAE, Qatar". ArabianBusiness.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
- "Qatari Sheikh First Owner of the Priciest Lebanese-Made Supercar". Naharnet. 2013-02-01. Archived from the original on 2017-12-27. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
- Anderson, Peter (2012-07-23). "W Motors Teases Extravagant Hyper Sport Limited-edition Supercar". Drive. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- Gallina, Eric (2013-11-15). "Inside W Motors, Creators of the Lykan Hypersport". Form Trends. Archived from the original on 2019-12-03. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- "Welcome". WDI Group. Archived from the original on 2011-11-29.
- "Ralph R. Debbas: The Innovation Interview". Brulte & Company. 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- "W Motors: History". wmotors.ae. 2020. Archived from the original on 2019-11-09. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- Hamdan, Lubna (2019-04-06). "Look at me now: W Motors CEO Ralph Debbas". ArabianBusiness.com. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- "Studiotorino". Studiotorino.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- Workman, Adam (2017-11-30). "Hypercar manufacturer W Motors opens its new Dubai boutique – in pictures". The National. Archived from the original on 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
- "W Motors Automotive Group Holding Limited". Dubai International Financial Centre. 2019-11-11. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- Hamdan, Lubna (2019-04-09). "Car brands 'will not exist' in future as shared mobility grows, says W Motors CEO". ArabianBusiness.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
- Monks, Kieron (2020-03-27). "W Motors is set to open the first hypercar factory in the Middle East". CNN. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- "Ralph R. Debbas Automotive CEO of the year". W Motors Blog. 2019-10-03. Retrieved 2019-12-03.