| Less than a year after he took over as executive director of global Buick and Cadillac design, Englishman Mark Adams—who'd been bandied about as a candidate to replace Ed Welburn as head of GM design when Welburn eventually retires—will return to Germany to lead GM Europe's design, as well as coordinate the streamlining of global Opel and Buick design efforts. The move comes as a surprise to industry observers and staff members native to the Warren, Michigan, tech center. In spite of his short tenure at the design center, Adams left a clear mark within the Buick and Cadillac studios, initiang several key personnel restructurings and inserting his design preferences on the brands' programs at all stages of development. As of September 1, he will be succeeded by Andrew Smith, currently the director of Holden design. Smith is a respected and well-liked designer with comprehensive experience in various GM studios. His promotion is part of a larger reshuffling of executive positons within the global GM design organization. Besides Smith, Sharon Gauci will receive a promotion to design director of global color and trim. In her last role, she headed Buick's color and trim studio; she previously was North American color and trim director, a position that she held prior to GM's 2009 bankrupty, when she briefly returned to her native Australia.
Helen Emsley, currently head of interiors for full-size trucks and performance cars, has been promoted to the position of executive director of GMC global design and user experience, where she is expected to come up with solutions similar to Cadillac's CUE system. A number of other GM designers have been moved to similar-level or partially expanded roles. With Adams's return to Europe, the race for Welburn's job is wide open again. Meanwhile, Buick and Cadillac are preparing for yet another phase of design leadership.  from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com | |||
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