The Williams Formula One team on Thursday announced key changes to its leadership as it leaves behind the Williams family era and enters the one under the control of new owner Dorilton Capital.

The team has named Jost Capito as CEO. He starts the new role on February 1, 2021, and will report to Matthew Savage, chairman of Williams and Dorilton Capital.

The team has also confirmed that Simon Roberts will remain as team principal. Roberts, who will report to Capito, took over the role in September following the departure of Frank Williams and his daughter Claire Williams.

Capito has had quite the varied career and has influenced both the production and racing sides of the automotive world. His last role was head of the Volkswagen R performance and motorsport division, and prior to that he had a brief stint as CEO of the McLaren F1 team.

Jost Capito

Jost Capito

He also headed VW's hugely successful World Rally Championship team which won the three-straight titles last decade. Prior to working at VW he worked at Ford's former SVT performance division where he was responsible for versions of cars like the Ford Focus RS and F-150 Raptor.

Capito raced himself in his early career. For instance, back in the mid-1970s, he raced motorcycles and even won the truck category of the 1985 Dakar Rally with his father in a Mercedes Unimog. He's also worked at BMW M, Porsche, and the former Jordan and Sauber F1 teams.

“It’s a great honour for me to join Williams Racing during these exciting and demanding times for both the team and for Formula One,” Capito said in a statement. “It is an honour to be a part of the future of this storied team, and one that carries such a poignant name in the sport, so I approach this challenge with great respect and with a huge amount of relish.”

Williams is one of the most successful teams in F1, having racked up seven Drivers' Championship and nine Constructors' Championship titles under its belt. However, the team, which currently relies on Mercedes-Benz AMG power units, hasn't won a grand prix since 2012. Its current drivers are George Russell and Nicholas Latifi.