Dominic Najafi takes top Cadillac design job

Dominic Najafi has been promoted to executive design director at Cadillac. The news was announced earlier in August, of course, but Car Design News caught up with the British designer to learn more about the move and what's in store. 

He has served most recently as head of studio and exterior design at General Motors Advanced Design Europe in Leamington Spa, under the leadership of Julian Thomson. Earlier this Spring, the team there revealed its first public project, a futuristic new Corvette concept, with much of the presentation work led by the duo of Thomson and Najafi. The latter has clearly played an integral role at the studio and is an articulate, composed presence on the shop floor. 

Looking back on his time with the UK team, Najafi describes it as "the most creatively liberating and enjoyable time of my career so far," and praised his then boss Julian Thomson for developing "a culture that is very collaborative, inventive and experimental. Everyone in the team has a real part to play. We have the freedom to explore new ways of working and new technologies, all with the aim of producing bold new strategies. It is very fulfilling. I will welcome future collaborative opportunities with the UK team, as understanding the perspective from Europe is important for creating products that appeal to a global customer demographic."

The Coventry University graduate began his career with an internship at Bentley Motors, before taking a permanent role up in Crewe first as an interior designer and later — and for much longer — as an exterior designer. The trend would continue at Jaguar, being heavily involved in exterior design and eventually serving as chief exterior designer. All in he would spend 20 years at Bentley and JLR before moving to GM late in 2022. 

Cadillac will not be entirely unfamiliar to Najafi with the European advanced design studio tasked with working across various nameplates under the GM umbrella, although the official line is open for interpretation as to whether he has worked on any particular 'Caddy projects. 

"As you can imagine, one of the joys of working on that team is the opportunity to be creatively versatile and agile, while working simultaneously across a variety of projects," Najafi says, adding that "the UK Advanced Design team works collaboratively across our global design studio network, enabling us to build strong relationships with each brand studio."

The potential of the brand is enormous

Najafi is clearly looking forward to the new gig and told Car Design News that it's "an incredible time" to be joining the luxury nameplate. "It is a time of great ambition, momentum and creativity," he explains. "I’m looking forward to getting to know the talented Cadillac team better and working to push Cadillac further forward as a truly global performance luxury brand – one that epitomises American innovation and craftsmanship. Cadillac is genuinely unique in the scope and breadth of segments it occupies and the high standard at which it executes." 

He highlights recent models such as the Celestiq, Optiq, Lyriq and Vistiq, but also "cultural icons" like the Escalade and V-series models. (Brownie points from this writer, who has a soft spot for the earlier CTS-V during a spell in Detroit).  

There's plenty of other things going on beyond road cars though, of course, including various race series including IMSA, WEC and no less the return to Formula 1. He also flags some of the recent show cars as an indication of the brand's willingness to explore and try new things, in particular the Opulent Velocity, Sollei and Elevated Velocity. "The potential of the brand is enormous, and it is invigorating to be part of this team as we tell new stories to the world about this iconic brand."

Najafi is currently in the process of moving over to Warren, which again will not be entirely unfamiliar territory: "I’m spending a lot of time in the US, and my family will move over fully after Christmas. They have spent a bit of time in Michigan and loved it. There’s a great quality of life to be had out here."

Najafi will work under the leadership of new global GM design boss Bryan Nesbitt, who took the reins following Michael Simcoe's retirement.