Anthony John Purnell (born 23 May 1958 in Carshalton, Surrey) is an English engineering entrepreneur, and former principal of the Jaguar and Red Bull Formula One teams.
[citation needed] After MIT, Purnell returned to the United Kingdom as a researcher at Cambridge University working on whole field continuous velocity determination in fluid flow.
Still under Purnell's management, Pi Research was made part of Ford's Premiere Performance Division alongside Cosworth and the Jaguar Formula One team.
The next two seasons saw a gradual improvement in results as Australian Mark Webber was signed to replace Eddie Irvine, and management stability began to pay dividends, but with parent company Ford needing to make financial savings the team's future was uncertain.
By late 2004, after a series of budget cuts, Ford announced their withdrawal from Formula One placing Jaguar Racing, Pi Research and Cosworth up for sale.