Kia appoints two new design leaders
After a surprise move earlier in the year, Oliver Samson has landed at Kia’s Frankfurt studio, while Seungmo Lim is now head of the Kia Design Center in China
Kia has added two new senior designers to its global team. Oliver Samson has been appointed head of the Europe studio in Frankfurt after we reported that he would be leaving Changan in February. Meanwhile, Seungmo Lim will head up the China Design Center in Shanghai. Both bring significant experience from a mix of brands.
Samson’s most recent position was global design director of the Deepal brand at Changan; before that serving as director of exterior design at NIO; and before that as creative director at Mercedes-Benz. As Samson told Car Design News, “I bring to the table a diverse background in working cultures, from European luxury OEMs to start-ups and Chinese OEMs.”
Lim spent much of his earlier career in Europe at BMW, primarily in exteriors. A graduate of Hongik and Pforzheim universities, he eventually moved away from Munich in 2022 to head up exterior design at DiDi in Beijing, and then a quick six-month spell at Geely in China. The gallery above shows some very early sketches from Samson as a student (found in CDN’s extensive archives) while the gallery below shows some of Lim’s proposals for the i4 while at BMW.
Kia management clearly recognise the benefits of different experiences, viewpoints and cultures, noting in the press release that “contrasting perspectives, experiences, beliefs and opinions of its worldwide team of design pioneers […] create products with universal relevance and appeal.”
Global head of design, Karim Habib, shares a similar view: “A diverse team […] with unique perspectives allows us to deliver truly inspirational and impactful design.” The pair will no doubt be straight into action when they begin their new roles officially on 1 April, building on recent projects including the series of EV concepts shown last year and the forthcoming K4 sedan revealed today.
Kia’s not been afraid to expand the global design team of late, bringing in BMW, Bentley and Faraday Future designer John Buckingham last summer to head up the Kia Next Design Exterior Group.