Donckerwolke gets expanded role (again) at Hyundai
Already in a multi-faceted role, Hyundai Motor Group’s top designer and President will take on additional responsibilities at the newly created HMG Global Design Division
Industry high-flyer Luc Donckerwolke is clearly adept at juggling plates. As chief creative officer for Hyundai and Genesis (where he has also recently served as chief brand officer), not to mention being promoted to President of Hyundai Motor Group in December, the Belgian designer has added another insignia to his uniform: chief design officer of the HMG Global Design Division.
The move continues a trend to put design – as a foundational concept – at the core of the Hyundai group. In an interview this summer, Donckerwolke told CDN how senior figures at Hyundai have embraced the role of design in the wider organisation, bringing him into the C-suite and ultimately accelerating the brand’s exploration (and success) with retro-futuristic electric vehicles.
Hyundai says his new role will see him lead innovation not only in conventional car design but also robotics and mobility trends. “Operating as CCO & CDO simultaneously, his expertise will strengthen the overall Hyundai brand’s design capabilities and drive the future of the motor industry,” the company said in a statement.
It is my role to create an environment in which designers can be creative and lead transformations
This chimes with what Donckerwolke told us in August, describing his day-to-day duties as being split between branding – “where I’m taking care of events and talking about the brand through design” – and being heavily involved in the active design phase of new vehicles.
“This is where I’m there to give input, either sitting with the designers, sketching or working with people on data. The worst thing you can do is to pull the designer away and say “let me do it.” That is not my role, I have to play within a team.”
In the press release issued 27 October, Donckerwolke doubled down on this team-first ideology: “I believe it is my role to create an environment in which designers can be creative and lead transformations.”
Within the Global Design Division, the Hyundai & Genesis Global Design Technical Unit will be led by executive vice president, SangYup Lee, who is also cementing himself as a key figure in the Hyundai organisation. Kia head of design, Karim Habib, will lead the Kia Global Design Technical Unit. Simon Loasby, who has led projects around the Hyundai IONIQ lineup and N brand, has been appointed as the head of the Hyundai Design Center.
In addition, the newly established Genesis Design Center will be led by Ilhun Yoon, who was heavily involved in the stunning X trilogy of concept cars. This new centre will “allow each mobility brand within the Group to benefit from its own design ethos, and build a strong design identity,” the company says.