Trio of design promotions at Stellantis
Senior designers at Stellantis have been promoted to new roles in exterior, interior and user experience
Not long after Chris Benjamin announced his new role at Scout Motors, having left Stellantis as VP of interior design, the group has shared a trio of new placements.
First up, Vince Galante is the new VP of exterior design at Jeep having worked in various positions at the off-road brand since 2005. Galante has not only worked on models such as the Grand Wagoneer and Airflow Vision concepts, but also global UX programmes including the Uconnect platform and even the redesign of the SRT logo used on Viper models. He will report to chief design officer Ralph Gilles.
A word on outgoing head of Jeep design, Mark Allen, who last week announced his retirement from the company after 30 years and was praised by Gilles for his “indelible contribution to the Jeep, Dodge and Ram Truck brands,” adding that his legacy “will be enjoyed by the world for years to come.” Allen worked on models such as the 2014 Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Renegade.
Elsewhere, and Ryan Nagode has been promoted to VP of interior design across a mix of brands including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram Truck and Wagoneer-branded vehicles. Like Galante, he has stuck around for some time having joined first in 2003 as a product designer.
Most recently, Nagode led the interior design for the Ram 1500 Revolution concept and its subsequent production variant. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art himself, Nagode has also served as a judge for the school’s student design shows over the years. Like Galante, he will report to Gilles.
On the UX front, Leandro Pinto will take the reins as VP of global user experience. Pinto sits in an increasingly important position within the overall design organisation as the in-car experience continues to evolve. Pinto originally joined Stellantis in 2019 and led the South American UX design team. Given the breadth of his new global role, he will report to both Gilles and his European counterpart Jean-Pierre Ploue.
Pointing to the culture of internal promotion and championing existing talent, Gilles noted in a release that Stellantis is “fortunate to have such proven and amazing talent inside our design office” and that all three designers will bring “their own unique perspective” to their respective roles.