Ford has appointed a new design boss to lead the styling direction of new vehicles developed within the Asia Pacific region.
In his new role as Ford Asia Pacific director of design, Joel Piaskowski will lead teams across Asia Pacific, including China and India, from Ford’s Product Development Centre in Melbourne.
Piaskowski, who will report directly to Ford Europe and Asia Pacific executive design director Martin Smith, said he was excited about the opportunity to head up the regional team from Australia.
“Australia is recognised as one of three global centres of excellence for design in the Ford world and I look forward to helping drive the team to even greater heights,” Piaskowski said.
“You only have to look at the great portfolio of products that come out of Australia – Figo, Ranger, Falcon and Territory to date, with more to come – to know that Australia truly designs for the world.”
The Michigan-born designer graduated from the College of Creative Studies in 1990, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts specialising in Transportation Design.
He has held a number of key design positions in Europe and North America at General Motors, Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz in more than two decades in the industry.
He joined Ford in 2010 as the company’s North American exterior design director.
He replaces Christopher Svensson, who has assumed Piaskowski’s old position in the US.
