Italdesign brings in new design boss
Italdesign has tapped Joaquin Garcia to replace Carsten Monnerjan as head of design, who took the top job in 2019
Joaquin Garcia is Italdesign’s new head of design. The former Nio, SEAT, Cupra and Skoda designer will take the reins from 1 March. Monnerjan has been with Italdesign since 2012, and was promoted to head of design in 2019. He will take on a new role at Porsche.
Garcia joins the design house from a freelance capacity, having previously stepped down as head of Nio’s Munich studio in April 2022. Before that he was head of exterior design at Cupra for just under four years, holding the same role at SEAT for nearly six before that. A Royal College of Art graduate, he came through the ranks as a designer through a placement with Mazda in Germany and then more established spots at Renault, Ford and Skoda.
Italdesign is a familiar name for Garcia, who has collaborated with the team on a handful of projects during his time with SEAT and Cupra. The world of independent design houses is also not new to him, having spent time with concept car agency Fuore Design in the past.
”I will be committed in leading and growing the creative team and in supporting this great reality,” says Garcia on the move, ”pushing it to be more and more a main player in the future scenarios of mobility and sustainability. I am aware that it is a very important legacy, and I will meet it with great enthusiasm and passion.”
The appointment of Garcia fills in a blank. It was announced in December 2022 that Monnerjan would become the new managing director of Porsche Design GmbH – Porsche’s lifestyle brand – and lead the creative team at Studio F. A. Porsche in Zell am See, Austria. ”I am really grateful to Carsten for the years he spent with us,” says Italdesign CEO, Antonio Casu.