Designer Profiles Archives

Renault’s Francois Leboine Appointed Head of Design for Fiat-Abarth

Eric Gallina — Wed, 26 May 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Renault has been shedding talent since the formation of the Stellantis Group and the announcement of Jean-Pierre Ploué as Chief Design Officer for the Group’s European division. Last month, insiders at FCA divulged that Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos would soon join Alfa Romeo (a move as yet unconfirmed by Stellantis communications). Now Stellantis has confirmed that François Leboine, formerly Renault’s Head of Concept Cars, has left to lead both the Fiat and Abarth brands. The move is the latest in a series […]

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Anders Warming Returns to BMW Group as Rolls-Royce Design Director

Eric Gallina — Mon, 24 May 2021 09:54:00 +0000

Anders Warming will soon become Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ new Director of Design, trading in his independent design consultancy Warming Design to return to the BMW Group, a company he resigned from six years ago. He will start his new role on July 1, 2021. The announcement is surprising as we all thought Warming was enjoying his time as a free agent. He has worked on a number of product design, concept and production car projects since establishing his eponymous design […]

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Martin Uhlarik Promoted to Tata Motors Head of Global Design as Pratap Bose Resigns

Eric Gallina — Tue, 04 May 2021 11:00:00 +0000

Pratap Bose, the longtime Head of Global Design at Tata Motors, announced his resignation on Wednesday, April 28th. Tata Motors immediately responded by promoting Martin Uhlarik, formerly Head of the European Design Technical Center (TMETC), as his replacement. The news came as a shock to many within the industry and beyond. Bose has been a wonderful spokesman for the company in his 14 years at the helm of the design organization, having gone through numerous vehicle programs – both in […]

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Ex-Volkswagen Group Design Chief Murat Günak Named Head of Design at TOGG

Eric Gallina — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 08:05:00 +0000

Former Mercedes and VW design chief Murat Günak recently joined Turkish carmaker TOGG as head of design. In his new role, he will oversee all of the design operations of the brand from its headquarters in Gebze, Turkey. The company currently has two vehicles in the pipeline – a sedan and an SUV – which were designed by Pininfarina and shown in 2018. News of Günak’s appointment was confirmed in a low-key and rather unusual way: TOGG shared a video […]

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Remembering Robert Opron – Legendary Car Designer (1932-2021)

Eric Gallina — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Legendary French car designer Robert Opron passed away on March 29. He was 89 years old. Robert Opron was a highly influential designer who spent most of his career between two countries – straddling the line between France and Italy. It’s no surprise then that his name within design circles is synonymous with the sublime Citroën SM, a French-bodied Gran Turismo with an Italian engine sourced from Maserati. Born in France and raised largely in Africa, Opron attended l’École des […]

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Jean-Pierre Ploué Named Chief Design Officer for Stellantis European Brands

Eric Gallina — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 16:00:00 +0000

There have been some changes to the design leadership team following the formation of Stellantis and the merger of PSA and FCA. Jean-Pierre Ploué, who until last year Senior VP of Design for Groupe PSA, has now been appointed Chief Design Officer for the majority of the European brands and a member of Stellantis’ Top Executive Team, while Ralph Gilles will remain in charge of the brands in the Americas as well as Maserati. In his new role, Ploué will […]

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Ralph Gilles Named Chief Design Officer for Stellantis in the Americas

Eric Gallina — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 15:54:00 +0000

The formation of the Stellantis group, which consists of the former PSA and FCA automotive companies, has brought about changes to the design leadership team. Under the new operation, Ralph Gilles, a veteran Chrysler designer most recently Head of Global Design for FCA’s brands, will now oversee the operation in the Americas (as well as Maserati) while Jean Pierre Ploué looks over the European brands in the vast product portfolio. Gilles has had an extensive background in automotive design, brand […]

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Stefan Sielaff Leaves Bentley for Geely, Replacing Peter Horbury

Eric Gallina — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Stefan Sielaff is the latest VW Group designer to take on a new appointment at Geely Design. According to German newspaper reports, the former Bentley Design Director and head of Volkswagen Group’s interior design strategy resigned from his positions in December 2020 and will be taking over Peter Horbury’s role as head of Geely Design. Stefan Sielaff joined Bentley in July 2015 from his previous role as Design Director of the Volkswagen Design Center in Potsdam (now renamed VW Group […]

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Remembering Syd Mead, In His Own Words

Eric Gallina — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the death of visionary artist, futurist, illustrator and conceptual designer Syd Mead. Known for his incredible depictions of the future, Mead’s illustration work attracted a diverse range of companies, from automakers and steel merchants to architecture firms and technology giants. It also garnered the attention of Hollywood directors, who tapped him to work on science fiction films like Blade Runner, Tron and Aliens. It’s hard to overestimate the impact Mead’s work had on the […]

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Jorge Diez Returns to SEAT as Design Director

Eric Gallina — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 06:23:55 +0000

Jorge Diez has been appointed Design Director at SEAT, filling the role previously vacated by Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, who left in July this year to join Renault. Diez will begin his new role on December 1, and report to the company’s Executive Vice-President for Research and Development, Dr. Werner Tietz. Appointed to lead Mitsubishi Motors’ European design studio in July last year, Diez is making a return to the VW Group, where he held international assignments for almost 20 years. This […]

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Mat Weaver Promoted to Vice President of Nissan Design Europe

Eric Gallina — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 08:21:41 +0000

Nissan Design Europe (NDE) design director Matthew Weaver has finally been promoted to the position of vice president, effective April 1, 2020. He succeeds Mamoru Aoki, who will retire after 39 years with the company. It’s great to see Weaver land the top job at NDE. He is the first European to do so. Given his years of service at Nissan and his numerous contributions, we’d say it’s well deserved. Weaver joined Nissan Design in 2001 and hit the ground […]

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Jochen Paesen Joins Kia Motors as VP of Interior Design

Eric Gallina — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 08:01:28 +0000

Kia Motors is strengthening its design operations with the appointment of another high-level designer, naming Jochen Paesen VP of Interior Design. In his new role, Paesen will be based in Namyang, Korea, and report to SVP and Head of Kia Design, Karim Habib. “It is a great honor to be part of Kia’s global design team during a time of enormous change in the automotive industry,” said Paesen. “I look forward to contributing to Kia’s ambitious plans for the future […]

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