Designer Moves Archives

Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos Appointed Alfa Romeo Head of Design

Eric Gallina — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 11:05:00 +0000

There have been – as previously reported – many changes taking place within design at FCA’s European design facility since the Italy-based company and French manufacturer PSA merged to form the Stellantis Group at the start of the year. Besides the appointment of Francois Leboine to head the Fiat-Abarth brands and the welcome announcement of the revival of the Lancia brand (which will now be led by Stellantis Chief Design Officer Jean-Pierre Ploué), it has now been confirmed that Alejandro […]

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Pratap Bose Appointed Chief Design Officer at Mahindra Group

Eric Gallina — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 17:41:04 +0000

Mahindra Group has announced the appointment of Pratap Bose as the Executive Vice President and Chief Design Officer to lead its newly formed Global Design organization. The new Global Design organization, expected to be headquartered in the UK, aims to ‘renew Mahindra’s commitment to reshaping the future of mobility by designing and developing dynamically engineered next-generation authentic products with global appeal’, according to the company press release. Bose, who until recently was Head of Design at Mahindra’s cross-town rival Tata […]

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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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Wayne Burgess Appointed Head of Vehicle Design at Ola Electric

Eric Gallina — Tue, 04 May 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Ola – India’s largest mobility platform and one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies – has appointed Wayne Burgess Head of Vehicle Design for its Ola Electric division. He will be tasked with overseeing the future lineup of the company’s forthcoming E-Mobility product range, which is still in its nascent phase. The company recently received a further $300m investment to help it transition to building cars, bikes, and other forms of electric mobility. “I am looking forward to my work at […]

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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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Yasutake Tsuchida Appointed Head of Mazda’s US Design Studio

Eric Gallina — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Mazda’s North American design studio has been devoid of a design director since Julien Montousse left to join Archer Aviation in November 2020. Now the Japanese carmaker has officially announced the appointment of longtime Mazda designer, Yasutake Tsuchida, as his replacement. Tsuchida’s new post is officially Senior Director of Design, though many of the core functions of the position remain identical to Montousse’s responsibilities as Vice President. He will oversee design operations, including next-generation vehicle planning and brand strategy development […]

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Anthony Lo Replaces Moray Callum as VP of Ford Design

Eric Gallina — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 11:00:00 +0000

In one of the biggest surprises yet this year, Ford Motor Company has just announced that Anthony Lo will be replacing Moray Callum as VP of Design. Callum will retire from Ford this spring and be succeeded by Lo, who was head of exterior design at Groupe Renault until the start of this year. Lo apparently handed in his resignation only three weeks ago. Moray Callum will end his 38-year product development career – more than half of which was […]

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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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