Ford on Wednesday (28 May) named Joel Piaskowski, a design leader with 24 years of international automotive experience, as Ford Europe’s new director of design, from 1 July.
Piaskowski, 45, replaces Martin Smith, 64, who will work on a global project studying the future direction of the automaker’s design, with Ford global design chief Moray Callum, until his retirement at the end of this year.
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Smith headed Ford Europe design for a decade.
“Martin’s leadership and passion for great design not only invigorated Ford of Europe’s lineup but influenced Ford designs globally,” said global product development chief Raj Nair.
Smith joined Ford in 2004 from General Motors Europe and led the development of a new exterior design language now known as ‘kinetic design’ using bold, dramatic lines that convey ‘energy in motion’, according to the automaker.
This was seen on models like the first generation S-Max and Kuga, fourth generation Mondeo and second generation C-Max as well as the current ‘One Ford’ Focus and Fiesta made and sold worldwide. Smith also directed the creation of a number of concept vehicles, including the Iosis, Iosis X, Iosis MAX, Verve, Evos and most recently, the S-Max Concept.
Piaskowski currently heads Ford’s strategic concepts group in the US. In his new role, he will oversee design of all concept and production vehicles in Europe and support the automaker’s global design operations. He’ll report to both Callum and Ford Europe product development chief Joe Bakaj.
Piaskowski graduated in 1990 from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit with a bachelor of fine arts specialising in transportation design and joined Ford in 2010 as director, exterior design, The Americas. He has headed a team designing several vehicle lines, including the recently redesigned Mustang and F150 pick-up truck.
From January 2013, Piaskowski was design director at Ford Asia Pacific in Melbourne, Australia, a Ford unit which has designed a number of models for regional and/or global sale (such as China’s new Escort). He recentlt returned to Dearborn HQ to oversee advanced design studios globally.
Prior to Ford, Piaskowski was president of Mercedes’ advanced design centre in California from 2009 to 2010, and spent six years as Hyundai’s US director of design. He started his career at General Motors in 1990, working for about 12 years on exterior and interior designs for several brands.
“Joel’s international experience and product versatility are particularly important as we continue to leverage our design talent around the globe to deliver truly world-class products,” said Callum in a statement.
