HORIBA MIRA’s Joanne Smith Named ‘Person of the Year’ in ATTI Awards
21st May 2025
HORIBA MIRA’s Joanne Smith Named ‘Person of the Year’ in 2025 Automotive Testing Technology International Awards
HORIBA MIRA is delighted to announce that Joanne Smith, Capability Group Head of Passive Safety, has been named ‘Person of the Year’ in the 2025 Automotive Testing Technology International (ATTI) Awards.
The ATTI Awards celebrate the very best in global automotive engineering, development, research and technology. Joanne was selected by a panel of expert judges – including OEM engineers, industry consultants and technical journalists – in recognition of her exceptional contribution to vehicle safety and crash testing. The award also comes at a pivotal time in Joanne’s career, as she celebrates 30 years at HORIBA MIRA.
Joanne leads one of the UK’s most advanced passive safety teams, comprising over 60 engineers, and has overseen more than 10,000 crash tests throughout her career, giving her unrivalled insight into vehicle behaviour in collisions and the evolution of occupant restraint systems. She played a pivotal role in the delivery of HORIBA MIRA’s recently opened Passive Safety Centre Crash Facility, a multimillion-pound investment commissioned in 2024 that sets a new benchmark for vehicle testing in the UK.
The facility is the first in the country capable of conducting the latest Euro NCAP MPDB frontal impact tests, one of the most technically challenging and safety-critical assessments used today. This capability enables manufacturers to gather essential data on crash performance in real-world head-on collisions and is especially important for the UK, where a high proportion of single carriageway roads increases the likelihood of severe frontal impacts.
It’s an incredible honour to receive this recognition, particularly as I celebrate 30 years at HORIBA MIRA,, I’m proud to accept it on behalf of the entire Passive Safety team, whose expertise, dedication and collaborative spirit have made everything we’ve achieved possible. The launch of the new crash facility is a huge step forward for the UK’s vehicle safety testing capability, and it’s already helping to deliver vital data to shape the next generation of safer vehicles.
Joanne Smith, Capability Group Leader – Passive Safety
Judges from across the global automotive sector praised Joanne’s technical leadership, advocacy, and impact on both industry and public safety. Alex Grant, freelance journalist, commented:
Jo impresses for her commitment to road safety, raising the profile of critical crash testing and ensuring the UK has world-class facilities to meet the latest standards.
Bolin Zhou, technical director at CATARC, said:
Great work on this fantastic Euro NCAP application – very pioneering.
Dr Carrie Bobier-Tiu, director of engineering at Woven by Toyota, added:
Her work is directly improving the crash testing capability for the UK market through new NCAP test coverage. This is high impact and novel.
Joanne’s achievements go beyond engineering. Her appearances in news outlets such as Top Gear Magazine and The Sunday Times have brought the subject of crash safety into the public spotlight, a contribution acknowledged by several judges. Graham Heeps said:
Joanne’s ability to bring the world of vehicle testing to the wider public consciousness, thereby helping to inspire the next generation of engineers, makes her a worthy recipient of this award.
Lakshmi Prasad Bhatta of Mahindra Automotive North America said:
Joanne’s leadership in both engineering and public advocacy has strengthened the UK’s position in global vehicle safety.
And Mohammad Behroozi of GM concluded:
She has significantly elevated the nation’s passive safety engineering capacity.
Everyone at HORIBA MIRA congratulates Joanne on this well-deserved recognition and looks forward to continuing to advance vehicle safety through innovation, collaboration and engineering excellence.
Learn more about the ATTI Awards and this year’s winners at: https://www.automotivetestingtechnologyinternational.com
Learn more about HORIBA MIRA’s Passive Safety capabilities here: https://www.horiba-mira.com/passive-safety/
