Ralph Debbas
Ralph Debbas.jpg
Born
Ralph R. Debbas

1988 (age 33–34)
Lebanon
NationalityLebanese
Education
  • Automotive design
  • Graphic design
  • Economics
Alma mater
  • Coventry University
  • Lebanese American University
Occupation
  • Automotive entrepreneur
  • Businessman
Years active2006-present
Known forCEO of W Motors
Board member ofChairman and CEO of W Motors
Spouse(s)Catherine Debbas
ChildrenKarl Lykan Debbas
Awards
  • New Designer of Excellence (2009)
  • Trophee de L’Argus (2009)
  • The Visionary Entrepreneur of the Year (2013)
  • The Luxury Arab World Award (2015)
  • BIAF 2015 Award
  • Automotive CEO of the Year (2019)
  • 40 And Under 40
Signature
Signature of Ralph Debbas

Ralph R. Debbas (born 1988) is a Middle Eastern automotive entrepreneur and businessman best known as the CEO of W Motors, which he founded in 2012. W Motors was the first Arabian sports car manufacturer, making him the first automotive CEO in the Middle East.

Early life and education[edit]

Debbas was born in Lebanon in 1988 to a family of industrialists.[1]

Debbas is a honours graduate of Coventry University's automotive design course.[2][3] He had previously studied economics and began to study graphic design at the Lebanon American University before switching to automotive design.[3][4]

Career with W Motors[edit]

Debbas began development of W Motors in 2006,[5] and founded the company in 2012[6] with the launch of the Lykan HyperSport, a project he designed and developed over several years.The Fenyr SuperSport followed with production beginning in 2018.[7] Debbas launched the W Motors consultancy division in 2019, which now makes up 70% of the company's business.

Today, Debbas owns shares of W Motors Automotive Group Holding Limited and is a director.[8] He is the CEO of W Motors S.A.L.[4]

Personal views[edit]

Debbas has often spoken on the future of the transportation industry, particularly the impact of automation and electrification on vehicle ownership and manufacture.

Debbas believes that as electrification of cars becomes widespread and the development of self-driving technology advances, car ownership will decline, to the point were road transport is provided in the same manner as planes. In other words, manufacturers will decline and cars will be owned by providers.ref>Hamdan, Lubna (2019-04-09). "Car brands 'will not exist' in future as shared mobility grows, says W Motors CEO". ArabianBusiness.com. Retrieved 2020-03-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)</ref>

Debbas predicts his son, Karl (born 2016), will never own a car or hold a driver's license.

Awards[edit]

Year Award Confered by Citation
2009 New Designer of Excellence ND London [2]
Trophee de L’Argus ARGUS Paris
2013 The Visionary Entrepreneur of the Year CCS [3]
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 [9]
40 And Under 40 Arabian Business [10]

Personal life[edit]

Debbas has one child, Karl Lykan Debbas (born 1 August 2016[11] and named for the Lykan HyperSport), with his wife Catherine Debbas.

In the media[edit]

        

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Ralph R Debbas". World Usability Congress. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Debbas, Ralph. "Founder & CEO". W Motors. Archived from the original on 2019-11-09. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  5. ↑ Pascual, Hershey (2015-11-18). "Meet Ralph Debbas the man behind the new FENYR SuperSport and Chairman of W Motors". A&E Magazine. Retrieved 2020-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ↑ "W Motors: History". wmotors.ae. 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ Workman, Adam (2017-11-30). "Hypercar manufacturer W Motors opens its new Dubai boutique – in pictures". The National. Retrieved 2020-03-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ↑ "W Motors Automotive Group Holding Limited". Dubai International Financial Centre. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2020-02-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ "Ralph R. Debbas Automotive CEO of the year". W Motors Blog. 2019-10-03. Retrieved 2019-12-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ↑ "40 Under 40 2019 Ralph Debbas". ArabianBusiness.com. 2019. Retrieved 2020-03-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ Debbas, Ralph (2016-08-24). "Ralph R Debbas". Instagram. Retrieved 2019-12-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[edit]

This article "Ralph Debbas" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.