TITLE: Director of BMW i4, BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe,MW 3 Series China electrified, BMW 2 Series

COMPANY: BMW Group

BASED: Munich, Germany

AGE: 52

NATIONALITY: German

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

David Alfredo Ferrufino Camacho, a native of Bolivia, started his career at BMW Group in 1995 as a process and production planning engineer at the automaker’s Dingolfing plant. He then held positions in planning, car body, acoustics and purchasing until 2014, when he was named director of the Mini model line. In 2016 he was named director of a number of important product lines at BMW, including the i4, the 4 Series Gran Coupe, the 3 Series electrified version for China, and the 2 Series. He holds a graduate diploma in automotive engineering from Fachhochschule Munich.

REASON FOR WINNING

If the BMW i4 midsize sedan is winning praise for offering BMW’s traditional “Sheer Driving Pleasure” in a full-electric powertrain, much of the credit belongs to David Alfredo Feruffino Camacho. Since the project’s inception, Feruffino Camacho’s message has been, “Simply accelerating fast in a straight line is not enough for BMW.”

The i4′s maximum output of 530 hp propels the 2.1-ton car from 0 to 100 kph in just four seconds, but while impressive, that wasn’t the end goal for the project leader. The i4 handles like a BMW thanks to model-specific damper technology that reduces body roll and dive, while an actuator-related wheel-slip limiter, with fast and precise control, guarantees optimal traction even on slippery road surfaces. The final result, Feruffino Camacho says, is that the i4 conveys the feeling of being light and agile yet solid and authoritative at the same time: “With its superior directional reliability and high level of cornering stability, it seems to literally attach itself to the road.”