Dominic Najafi takes top Cadillac design job The ex-Bentley and JLR designer speaks to Car Design News about trading Leamington Spa for Michigan, and why the Cadillac brand has "enormous potential" Freddie Holmes
Volkswagen names new interior chief Volkswagen has named a long-time staffer as the new head of interior design Freddie Holmes
Exclusive: Volvo’s Offer resigns after Ingenlath resurfaces Jeremy Offer has resigned from his role as global head of design at Volvo with Nick Gronenthal stepping up to run the design studio in the interim. Meanwhile, former Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath is back in the fold with a new design advisory role at Geely Guy Bird
Exclusive: Sid Odedra on moving from Audi to Polestar Following a visit to Gothenburg earlier this year and a surprise meeting with the UX specialist, CDN is now the first to report on his first few months at Polestar Freddie Holmes
Changan adds experienced commercial vehicle design lead Chris Hamilton joins Changan from Contechs and will lead design for a broad mix of commercial vehicle projects Freddie Holmes
McLaren names new chief creative officer McLaren’s acquisition sees key Forseven leadership moving across into new roles, with Alister Whelan replacing Tobias Sühlmann Car Design News
People: Toyota’s CALTY Design Research announces executive changes Toyota’s North American design group revealed two executive changes, effective today Lucy Abbott
New design director at Lincoln as Curic moves to Ford Performance division In an internal shake-up, Kemal Curic has left Lincoln to head up the Ford Performance division while Christine Cheng takes Curic’s former role. The Irvine studio is also set to close design operations as Ford consolidates its design teams in Dearborn James McLachlan
GM stalwart Michael Simcoe retires; Bryan Nesbitt promoted Michael Simcoe, senior VP of design at General Motors will retire after 42 years at the company with GM’s Bryan Nesbitt to take over Car Design News
Nicholas David promoted at Karma The designer has received his second promotion in as many years Freddie Holmes
Cadillac designer takes senior role with Chevrolet A long-time General Motors designer is shifting from the world of luxury to the world of performance Freddie Holmes
Anthony Lo lands top design job at BAIC after leaving Ford Rumours that Anthony Lo had moved to China for his next gig have been confirmed Freddie Holmes
Benoit Jacob joins GAC Respected designer Benoit Jacob joins GAC as executive design director at the chinese OEM’s R&D centre By Anushka Dixit
BMW shakes up design team, brings in Missoni BMW Group is comprehensively overhauling its design division with the BMW brand team split into two studios supported by a newly created CMF department working across all brands James McLachlan
Polestar continues to ring the changes as CEO Thomas Ingenlath steps down It is all change at Swedish EV brand Polestar as CEO Thomas Ingenlath follows design director Maximilian Missoni out the door James McLachlan
Todd Willing is Ford’s new design head Ford veteran Todd Willing is Ford’s new head of design, filling the role vacated by Anthony Lo in May 2024 James McLachlan
Philipp Romers replaces Missoni as head of design at Polestar Polestar has appointed Philipp Römers as its new head of design, replacing Maximilian Missoni who headed up the Swedish EV brand design department for six years James McLachlan
Xiaomi taps Polestar interior chief for new director role at Munich creative studio Jean-Arthur Madelaine-Advenier, previously head of interiors at Polestar, has joined Xiaomi as design director at the brand’s Munich studio By James McLachlan & Freddie Holmes
JP Bernal appointed Polestar head of interior design The popular designer takes the top interiors job at the company alongside his existing work fostering the Polestar Design Community Freddie Holmes
Peter Wouda joins SAIC-VW in China Peter Wouda is taking on a new role at SAIC Volkswagen in China Freddie Holmes
Tata Motors appoints Nicolas Proust as head of Turin design studio Nicolas Proust will be taking on a new role within Tata Motors, leading the Italian outpost in Turin Car Design News
Eduardo Ramirez promoted at Hyundai Eduardo Ramírez takes on a new role at Hyundai Design Europe Car Design News
Lancia promotes new head of design Lancia’s interior design lead has been given the top design job Car Design News
Car design round-up: purple paint, pokey powertrains and pop-up lights Car Design News looks at some of the design stories that may have gone under the radar over the past week. Read on for the latest from Alfa Romeo, INEOS, BMW and more… Car Design News
Exclusive: Skoda appoints new interior/HMI lead Skoda has brought over Chan Park who will serve as the new head of interior/HMI design Freddie Holmes
Anthony Lo leaves Ford After just over three years at the helm, Ford’s chief design officer Anthony Lo is leaving the company Guy Bird
Jozef Kabaň joins SAIC Ex-Volkswagen Group designer Jozef Kabaň has emerged at SAIC in China Freddie Holmes
Baumeister takes the helm at Designworks Munich Annette Baumeister succeeds Martina Starke at Designworks Munich Freddie Holmes
Martina Starke shifts from Designworks to Rolls-Royce The long-time BMW Group designer has traded Munich for Goodwood Freddie Holmes
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 Car Design News
Interview: Javier Garcia-Gallardo on heading up Zeekr’s new Shanghai studio Javier Garcia-Gallardo will head up Zeekr’s new Shanghai studio. Car Design News caught up with the designer at the brand’s Gothenburg studio to find out a little more James McLachlan
Dacia designer to head up Ford E division Dacia’s Bucharest studio chief has taken up a new role with Ford, focussing exclusively on EVs Freddie Holmes
Helicopter firm adds Blades from Tesla Peter Blades joins emerging eVTOL company Skyryse, continuing the trend of designers shifting from automotive to aviation Freddie Holmes
Lynk & Co names Shanghai design studio chief Nicki Kwee returns to Lynk & Co, this time to lead the new Shanghai design studio, and he tells Car Design News more about the move Freddie Holmes
Breaking: Frascella joins Audi as Lichte takes new VW Group role Marc Lichte has left Audi (but not the wider Volkswagen Group) and is replaced by outgoing JLR design director Massimo Frascella Jens Meiners
Exclusive: Oliver Samson leaves Changan Oliver Samson, global design director of Changan’s Shenlan/Deepal brand, has left the company James McLachlan
Exclusive: T. Jon Mayer leaves Volvo Volvo Cars’ head of exterior design has left the company Car Design News
Xiaomi enlists Bangle as ‘strategic design consultant’ Veteran designer Chris Bangle has been brought in as a consultant for Xiaomi’s venture into the automotive space Karl Smith
Breaking: Massimo Frascella leaves JLR JLR design director Massimo Frascella has confirmed he will be leaving the company Car Design News
Changan brings senior designer to Japan studio David Beasley swaps Gothenburg for Yokohama, moving from Lynk & Co to Changan Freddie Holmes
Callum promotes new head of design Callum design has promoted creative lead Aleck Jones to head of design
Job news at Lucid, Pininfarina and Li Auto Car design is evolving at a rapid pace, and so is the job market. Here is the latest round of new gigs and promotions Freddie Holmes
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 Freddie Holmes
Klaus Zyciora joins Changan The long-serving Volkswagen designer has joined Chinese carmaker Changan where he will oversee global design activities Freddie Holmes
Polaris hires experienced GM designer for off-road division Clay Dean has landed a senior design role at Polaris, leaving his role as chief innovation officer at Under Armour. He tells Car Design News that his varied experience and natural interest in off-roading makes it a perfect fit Freddie Holmes
ArtCenter names new transportation design chair Marek Djordjevic, an alumnus of Rolls-Royce and BMW Designworks, steps into a pivotal leadership role at the design school Karl Smith
Bugatti must pair charisma with performance, says new design boss Bugatti’s new design director tells CDN about his approach to design and why a close relationship with the engineering team has taken its cars to the next level Freddie Holmes
Car Design News in Review 2023 Q2 Car Design News’ James McLachlan and Freddie Holmes rendevous at the CDN headquarters to discuss new car launches from Mercedes, Lancia, Aston Martin and a host of others, plus people moves, car design events and why designers need to work harder on sound design. We also interview clay modeller Harry Burgess about his craft
Trio of design promotions at Stellantis Senior designers at Stellantis have been promoted to new roles in exterior, interior and user experience Freddie Holmes
Kia adds luxury nous with new exterior design hire Kia has brought in an experienced exterior designer who joins most recently from a stint at Faraday Future but has spent the bulk of his career with Bentley and BMW Freddie Holmes
Exclusive: Chris Benjamin on taking the reins at Scout The former VP of interior design at Stellantis sat down with North American Correspondent Laura Burstein to discuss building a new team and reimagining a storied brand Laura Burstein
Ousted from Volvo, Page bounces back to Bentley Ex-Volvo design director Robin Page takes Bentley’s top design job Guy Bird
Ajay Jain to lead Tata’s Pune design studio Ajay Jain has been appointed head of design for the Tata Motors India Design Studio based in Pune. Car Design News grabbed a few words with the designer James McLachlan
JC Pavone talks Volkswagen promotion and regional design strategy Volkswagen’s longtime design lead for Brazil has been promoted to head of Volkswagen design for both North and South America Freddie Holmes
Sophie Li on Volvo’s new Shanghai studio Car Design News speaks to Sophie Li, the designer who will lead Volvo’s new Shanghai studio Freddie Holmes
Stewart Reed retires from ArtCenter The longtime Chair of the Transportation Design Department retires after nearly two decades Karl Smith
Bentley’s new design boss jumps ship to McLaren (inside three months) After only three months as Bentley’s design director Tobias Sühlmann has joined McLaren as chief design officer Guy Bird
Rolls-Royce designer takes senior role at Pininfarina Pininfarina has brought in Felix Kilbertus from Rolls-Royce to fill the position left vacant by previous chief creative officer Kevin Rice By Freddie Holmes
Geely expands design leadership Hot on the heels of its new Milan studio, Geely has brought in ex-Chang An design director Chen Zheng as VP of design Freddie Holmes
Nio appoints new advanced exterior design director Adil Benwadih has been named as advanced exterior design director at Nio and will be based in Munich Freddie Holmes
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 Freddie Holmes
Volvo looks beyond automotive for new head of design The OEM has tapped the broad expertise of Jeremy Offer, formerly of electric commercial vehicle start-up Arrival, to take the reins. It may be a sign of a wider trend. Freddie Holmes
Jozef Kabaň shuffles to VW mobility role as Mindt fills brand hole A shakeup at Volkswagen Group will see Bentley’s former design boss Andreas Mindt replace Jozef Kabaň who will move to a VW mobility role Guy Bird
General Motors adds digital sculptor to UK studio Digital designer Jonathan Findlay makes the move from Lotus to GM
Nio design lead joins EV start-up Following a brief stint at Nio, Alister Whelan is now VP of design at UK-based EV start-up Forseven Freddie Holmes
GM adds exterior design specialist to UK studio It has been a busy start to the year on the job front, with several promotions and new placements already. The latest comes from GM, which is in the early stages of building out its new UK studio Freddie Holmes
Movement at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ design studio The head of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ (VWCV) design studio has returned to Germany after a stint in Australia Freddie Holmes
Lotus promotes new interior design lead Matthew Hill has been promoted as head of interior design at the Lotus Tech Creative Centre (LTCC) Freddie Holmes
CDR 9 student design winner gets nod for production Swedish brand Cake has commited to producing an electric quadbike, the Kibb, by 2025. It was designed by UMEA student Fanny Jonsson – highlighting the valuable role the next wave of talent will play in transportation design Freddie Holmes
Nissan promotes Latin America design boss John Sahs has been bumped up from chief designer to design director at Nissan Latin America Freddie Holmes
Karim Habib gets promotion at Kia The experienced designer joined in 2019 but already seems to be making quite an impression Freddie Holmes
Zyciora out, Mauer in (again) Michael Mauer will replace Klaus Zyciora as Volkswagen Group design boss from 1st January 2023 Guy Bird
Volvo’s ‘thoughtful’ approach lands new US design lead We caught up with Nick Gronenthal who recently took on a senior design role at Volvo Car USA Freddie Holmes
Alfa Romeo names new head of exterior design Bob Romkes will move over from Citroen and DS in Paris to a new role in Turin Freddie Holmes
Lotus names Ben Payne as chief creative officer Ben Payne will shift into a new role as chief creative officer for Lotus Technology as the brand pushes further into the ‘lifestyle’ vehicle space Freddie Holmes
Karma bolsters studio with new design VP Following an announcement earlier in September, Car Design News caught up with Karma’s incoming VP of global design, Michelle Christensen, to discuss her direction for the brand as it pursues new definitions of luxury Freddie Holmes
Leadership transition at GM’s California Advanced Design Studio Frank Saucedo will retire after a long, successful tenure at General Motors, with Brian Smith assuming leadership of the studio in North Hollywood Karl Smith
Exclusive: Julian Thomson to head up GM’s new UK-based advanced design studio Former Jaguar Land Rover design director Julian Thomson will head up GM’s advanced design studio based in the UK. Car Design News’ editor James McLachlan spoke to the designer about his new role, the future of EVs, and what kind of talent he is looking for James McLachlan
JP Gregory leaves Aston for Lotus John Paul “JP” Gregory (pictured above right) has joined Lotus Tech Creative Centre (LTCC) in Coventry as head of exterior design, leaving a similar role at Aston Martin in mid-June, after only a few months Guy Bird
Exclusive: Miles Nurnberger returns to Aston Miles Nurnberger has returned to Aston Martin within a year after his brief move to Dacia Guy Bird
Rob Melville exits McLaren McLaren’s director of design, Rob Melville has left the company after 13 years with Goran Ozbolt stepping up as acting design director Mark Smyth
Karma lands experienced interior design head Nicholas David joins from an illustrious career across various global automakers as Karma looks to expand in coming years Freddie Holmes
Dacia appoints new VP of Design Experienced Renault designer David Durand takes on a new role at Dacia, replacing Miles Nürnberger, who departs after less than a year in the role Freddie Holmes
Peter Schreyer appointed as Hyundai Motor Group’s executive design advisor The designer credited with revolutionising Kia and Hyundai design, Peter Schreyer, has been appointed as executive design advisor and brand ambassador James McLachlan
Leadership changes afoot at General Motors Andrew Smith to lead General Motors Global Advanced Design while Bryan Nesbitt will head up Cadillac Global design, replacing Smith James McLachlan
Julio Lozano becomes head of exterior design at SEAT and Cupra SEAT’s new exterior design director Julio Lozano joins the Spanish OEM after spending six years at Audi Michael Nash
Sophie Li selected as head of Volvo Asia Pacific Design Sophie Li will lead Volvo’s Asia Pacific Design team from the studio in Shanghai Michael Nash
Peter Horbury explains new Lotus design role and future product In Peter Horbury’s first official month in his new role as head of design at Lotus – and as its new Warwickshire design studio is renamed the Lotus Tech Creative Centre (LTCC) – he candidly explained to Car Design News his hopes and dreams for the plucky British sports brand, now with major Chinese backing Guy Bird
Vanessa Chang to head up BMW Group Designworks Shanghai studio Vanessa Chang takes the reins at the Shanghai studio for BMW Group Designworks Michael Nash
Stephane Janin to lead GAC Advanced Design Europe GAC has appointed Stephane Janin, former Renault concept car lead, to head up its new design studio in Milan, Italy Michael Nash
Ex-Apple designer Jony Ive to collaborate with Ferrari on the Italian brand’s first EV Apple’s former design talisman Jony Ive, the man behind the iPhone, is working with Ferrari to develop its first electric vehicle Jason Dunn
Luc Donckerwolke takes on creative and comms roles at Genesis Hyundai’s Luc Donckerwolke will now also oversee Genesis as chief creative officer and chief brand officer James McLachlan
Stefan Sielaff to head up Geely design; Peter Horbury moves to Lotus Chinese car giant Geely has appointed Bentley’s former design director Stefan Sielaff as VP of global design, replacing Peter Horbury who moves to Lotus as senior VP of design James McLachlan
Stellantis launches design studio Klaus Busse and Arnault Gournac to jointly head up new creative agency formed to collaborate with global partners on brand and design projects James McLachlan
Andreas Nilsson appointed studio director for NIO in Shanghai NIO has drafted in experienced Andreas Nilsson to oversee global programmes Michael Nash
Gustavo Guerra to take strategic role at Volvo Design director at Volvo Trucks Gustavo Guerra is to head up product planning at the brand’s R&D division Car Design News
Dacia appoints Miles Nürnberger as design director Long-time Aston Martin designer Miles Nürnberger leaves to head up Dacia Michael Nash
Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos heads to Alfa Romeo, Klaus Busse shifts to Maserati Design changes at the FCA Group see Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos appointed at Alfa Romeo, while Klaus Busse will have a more focused role Michael Nash
Jean-Pierre Ploué to lead Lancia’s revival A somewhat forgotten brand, Lancia’s fortunes have flagged in recent years. Could its also-ran status be reversed under the tutelage of Jean-Pierre Ploué, Stellantis chief design officer? James McLachlan
Former Tata design boss Pratap Bose joins Mahindra Mahindra has made a new role that will see former Tata design kingpin Pratap Bose act as design head for several different business sectors, from passenger cars to farm machinery Michael Nash
Aurelien Doisy appointed head of design Europe at Tata Motors Changes to Tata’s design team are on-going, with Aurelien Doisy taking a new role as head of design Europe Michael Nash
François Leboine becomes new head of design at Fiat & Abarth François Leboine will lead the design of new Fiat and Abarth models after overseeing concepts at Renault Michael Nash
Anders Warming announced as design director at Rolls-Royce Anders Warming is the first design director at Rolls-Royce for nearly two years Michael Nash
T. Jon Mayer takes over exterior design at Volvo; Missoni Moves exclusively to Polestar People changes at Volvo and Polestar underline the separation between the two brands Laura Burstein
Pratap Bose leaves Tata Motors; Martin Uhlarik new design head Martin Uhlarik is taking over from Pratap Bose as the global design head of Tata Motors Michael Nash
Yasutake Tsuchida named design director of Mazda North American Operations Yasutake Tsuchida will head up all design operations at Mazda North American Operations Michael Nash
David Hilton joins Karma Automotive Following two successful and informative years in China working for GAC, David Hilton has joined California-based Karma Automotive as senior design director global designs. Car Design News caught up with him on the eve of his appointment James McLachlan
Matteo Piguzzi named head of design at Pininfarina Shanghai Matteo Piguzzi takes on the role of head of design at Pininfarina Shanghai after working at the company’s Italy headquarters Michael Nash
Familiar faces suggest Stellantis is about evolution rather than revolution Evolution rather than revolution seems to be the aim with the merger of PSA and Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis. The new corporate structure is a roster of familiar faces James McLachlan
Moray Callum of Ford to retire Moray Callum, Ford’s hugely influential VP of design, is due to retire Michael Nash
Volvo hires new Colour and Material and UX leaders Key hires for Volvo Cars point to autonomous and electric future Maxine Morland
Luc Donckerwolke resigns from Hyundai Surprise resignation at Hyundai: Luc Donckerwolke has resigned from his position as chief designer of the Group Jens Meiners
Remembering Syd Mead, 1933-2019 ArtCenter graduate and visual genius Syd Mead has left an inspirational body of work for designers Karl Smith
Who’s Where: Chen Zheng becomes Chang An brand chief officer Additional role highlights importance of design to Chang An’s brand identity Michael Gooderham
Kemal Curic Replaces David Woodhouse at Lincoln Already heavily involved in Lincoln’s design turnaround, Curic’s promotion to Woodhouse’s vacated position was a natural progression Laura Burstein
Who’s Where: Filippo Perini takes charge of Genesis’s European design studio Former Lamborghini design boss exits Italdesign to head up Genesis advanced design in Germany Michael Gooderham
Kia appoints Karim Habib to devise new design direction Hyundai has announced that Infiniti’s departing head of design is moving to Seoul to guide the Kia brand Farah Alkhalisi
Who’s Where: Taisuke Nakamura promoted as Karim Habib leaves Infiniti Having worked on the latest concepts from Infiniti, Taisuke Nakamura will now become head of design. We can’t wait to see what the man who spearheaded the Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Grand Turismo does with Infiniti EVs… Michael Gooderham
Who’s Where: Juho Suh moves from NIO to Hyundai Suh’s recent experience of designing performance EVs at NIO could come in handy at Hyundai Michael Gooderham
Who’s Where: Sasha Selipanov moves from Genesis to Koenigsegg Veteran of Lamborghini and Bugatti calls it a “dream come true” to join Koenigsegg Michael Gooderham
Randy Rodriguez moves to GM Patac Now based in Shanghai, Rodriguez is helping to build Buick’s new design philosophy Maxine Morland
David Woodhouse Moves to Nissan Design America Former Lincoln design director will head up San Diego studio under Alfonso Albaisa Laura Burstein
Shizuki Kajiyama RIP Shizuki Kajiyama has passed away, in his home town of Hiroshima, Japan Car Design News
Dave Marek draws Acura’s future design language We get an impromptu design primer during a recent studio visit in LA Karl Smith
Richard Chung moves to Toyota Boshoku Ex-Adient interiors head joins Toyota’s in-house interior parts supplier Michael Gooderham
Who’s Where: Pratap Bose promoted to Tata global design VP Successful head of design reaches more senior status Michael Gooderham
Who’s Where: Marc Lichte to head Audi Design, Wolfgang Egger moves to Italdesign Audi’s chief designer Wolfgang Egger is to be replaced by senior VW designer Marc Lichte, according to company insiders. Egger is leaving to head Italdesign Giugiaro in Turin Jen Meiners