Who is the car designer of the future?
September 2025
Detroit, MI
Join the conversation #CDNDetroit
Who is the car designer of the future?
September 2025, 2024 | Detroit, MI
Join the conversation #CDNDetroit
Who is the car designer of the future?
September 2025 | Detroit, MI
Join the conversation #CDNDetroit
OVERVIEW
The car designer of the future will need a blend of traditional design skills and new competencies that reflect the changing landscape of the automotive industry. As we move towards more sustainable, autonomous, and connected vehicles, the skill set for car designers is evolving. Car Design News brings together an expert panel from contrasting backgrounds to better understand just who is the car designer of the future.
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2024 Agenda
2024 Speakers
Michael Simcoe
Senior VP Design, General Motors
Speaker
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BIO
Michael Simcoe serves as General Motors’ senior vice president, Global Design, leading teams and studios around the world. His team focuses on all aspects of design including advanced, production and industrial design operations supporting GM’s brands and subsidiaries. Recent designs developed under his leadership include the Cadillac CELESTIQ, Cadillac LYRIQ, GMC HUMMER EV, Chevrolet Blazer EV and Buick Wildcat Concept.
Scott Krugger
Vice President – Head of Dodge Design, Stellantis
Speaker
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BIO
Scott Krugger was appointed VP, Head of Dodge Design in August, 2022. In this position, he is responsible for managing all aspects of exterior design relating to Dodge and SRT passenger car and utility vehicles for North America. He reports directly to Chief Design Officer, Ralph Gilles. Prior to this appointment, Krugger served as Head of Alfa Romeo, Jeep and User Experience Design at the company’s EMEA design studio in Turin, Italy. Krugger earned a Master of Business Administration from Michigan State University - Eli Broad School of Business Executive MBA Program (2015) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Art with a major in Industrial design, which includes Automotive and Product Design (2001).
Joel Piaskowski
Global Design Director, Ford Motor Company
Speaker
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BIO
With more than 33 years of internationally acclaimed automotive design experience, Joel Piaskowski oversees the design of several Ford production vehicles and advanced concepts in Dearborn, Michigan. He was appointed to this role in March 2022 and reports directly to Doug Field, Ford’s Chief of Electric Vehicles, Digital & Design.
Piaskowski is most recently responsible for designs of the seventh generation 2024+ Ford Mustangs, 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 and the award-winning battery-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E.
He spent three-years on assignment heading Ford of Europe Design in Cologne, Germany, where he led the design teams of the highly acclaimed 2019 Ford Puma, 2018 Focus and Fiesta family of vehicles.
Piaskowski joined Ford in 2010 as Exterior Design Director, The Americas. There he led several vehicles, including the best-selling full size pickup truck 2015 Ford F150 and the world’s bestselling sports car, the sixth generation 2015 Ford Mustang.
Born and raised in Michigan, Piaskowski graduated from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, in Transportation Design.
Paul Wraith
Program Chief Designer, Ford Design
Speaker
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BIO
Paul designs relevant, inventive and successful vehicles; ones that make a difference to the people who use them, build businesses around them, and make them their passion.
He's an RCA graduate with a professional record of successful segment-defining production and concept vehicles, interior and exterior design, design strategy and people development over 25 years with 4 OEM's in 4 countries.
Jeff Hammoud
Chief Design Officer, Rivian
Speaker
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BIO
Jeff Hammoud is the Chief Design Officer at Rivian. Jeff is responsible for how all Rivian’s customer touch points look and feel, including Interior/Exterior design, CMF, User Experience, Mobile app, Website, branding and spaces. At Rivian, Jeff started with a clean sheet, building the team, design process and studio from the ground up resulting in the R1T, R1S, and the recently revealed R2, and R3X
Chris Benjamin
Chief Design Officer, Scout Motors
Speaker
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BIO
Chris Benjamin was appointed Chief Design Officer at Scout Motors in 2023. Chris serves as the steward of the iconic Scout design, overseeing interior and exterior design, concept development, user experience, and overall integration of design and technology in Scout Motors products and experiences. Most recently, he led interior design at Stellantis North America, including Jeep, Wagoneer, Chrysler, Dodge, and RAM. Chris earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in transportation industrial design from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
Joaquin Garcia
Head of Design, Italdesign
Speaker
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BIO
After graduating in Industrial Design at the Cardenal Herrera University in Valencia (E), in 1998,
Joaquin Garcia obtained a master’s degree in Vehicle Design at the Royal College of Arts in London.
Since then, he has held high-profile roles of increasing responsibility at Design Renault, Škoda and
SEAT/CUPRA, before joining NIO GmbH’s European Design Center as Head of Studio.
As of March 1st, 2023, Joaquin Garcia is Italdesign Head of Design to run creative activities in car,
transportation, and product design areas.
Derek Jenkins
Senior Vice President of Design and Brand, Lucid Motors
Speaker
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BIO
Derek Jenkins is Senior Vice President of Design and Brand at Lucid Motors, a Silicon Valley–based luxury electric automaker. In this role, he oversees exterior and interior design, user experience, colors and materials, vehicle accessories/apparel, and brand strategy and creative. The company’s first vehicle, Lucid Air, won MotorTrend’s Car of the Year in its first year of production. Before joining Lucid, Derek was the Director of Design at Mazda North America, overseeing the 2016 MX-5 Miata, Shinari Concept, CX-5, Mazda6, and Mazda3, 2017 CX-9. Prior to that, he was Chief Designer for Volkswagen North America, overseeing Scirocco and Microbus concepts, the Ragster, and Concept T. He began his career at Audi..
James McLachlan
Editor, Car Design News
Moderator
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BIO
James McLachlan is editor of Car Design News, Interior Motives and Car Design Review writing, commissioning and editing the editorial output across digital and print. A design journalist for 14 years, James is interested in the intersection between car design, urban planning, technology and culture.
Premier Partner
Italdesign, founded in 1968 and headquartered in Turin, Italy, is a reliable and expert partner in the automotive industry. With over 1,200 employees across its headquarters and subsidiaries in Metro Detroit Area, Barcelona, and Shanghai, Italdesign excels in design, engineering, and production of pre-series prototypes and street-legal ultra-limited series. The company offers a vertically integrated suite of solutions, managing projects from concept to product development, from testing to final homologation. Italdesign’s mission includes incubating innovative and sustainable solutions to drive forward the future of mobility.
Supporting Partners
Architexture design consultancy creates bespoke textures for every surface, using proprietary technology and proven expertise to explore your dream from conception to reality. Textures are designed and tested to express brand identity, to accentuate form and to provide functional qualities. Every step of the process is supported from texture design inception and verification, to engraving and finally optimizing the mold for production. When your idea evolves through our studios into a beautiful, highly-refined surface finish on a final production piece, you’ve experienced creativity delivered. Architexture is part of the largest texturing and tool performance company in the world, Standex Engraving Mold-Tech with 37 locations in more than 20 countries. Design studios are located in every region: Detroit, Michigan; Suzhou, China; and Manchester, UK. Proprietary technology and experience enables us to make changes and research fresh creative options with the speed you’re looking for in today’s highly competitive marketplace. Our studios offer the convenience and assurance of developing options and then testing until the results are perfect. The ability to bring creative design ideas and technology closer together allows us to quickly explore the art of the possible. What can we design and deliver for you?
Established in 1832, reimagined in 2021.
Pangea is a global leather supplier to the world’s leading automotive brands, providing material solutions that drive the future of natural interiors.
Headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Pangea serves its customers on four continents with nearly 3,000 team members. For more information, visit pangeamade.com, and follow us on LinkedIn
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Pangea is a global leather supplier to the world’s leading automotive brands, providing material solutions that drive the future of natural interiors.
Headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Pangea serves its customers on four continents with nearly 3,000 team members. For more information, visit pangeamade.com, and follow us on LinkedIn
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Autodesk is changing how the world is designed and made. Our technology spans architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, media, and entertainment, empowering innovators everywhere to solve challenges big and small. From greener buildings to smarter products to mesmerizing blockbusters, Autodesk software empowers innovators to design and make a better world for all. But we’re restless to do more. At Autodesk, we don’t believe in waiting for progress, we believe in making it–by combining technologies, unleashing talent, unlocking insights, and empowering our customers to find solutions to the challenges we face today. Our software provides customers with the right tools to work, the ability to think flexibly, and the power to transform what actually needs making.
Michigan-based Prefix Corporation is a recognized leader in the creation of prototype designs, mock-ups, and full-scale concept vehicles for the automotive, aviation, military and a wide variety of other industries. The Prefix team also specializes in low-volume production, component assembly, and specialty vehicle paint programs. With three facilities in southeastern Michigan and over 250 team members, Prefix Corporation has been providing innovative solutions to their clients for 45 years.
Since its inception in the early 1990s, Mingxin has been guided by the principle of "For a Better Life," embarking on a quest to unlock the full potential of materials. With a pioneering spirit, Mingxin continuously challenges the status quo of automotive interior materials through innovative research, eco-friendly production, and visionary development. This dedication has resulted in cutting-edge, sustainable products such as Mingxin® vegetable-tanned leather, Menorca® dye-free water-based microfiber suede, Verstar® water-based microfiber PU, Hurongo® water-based PU, and Eivisa® eco-PVC. Today, Mingxin is a leading high-tech enterprise in China, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (code: 605068.SH) since November 2020. The company operates five facilities across China and is expanding its global presence with a new factory, Bowen New Material, in León, Mexico. Mingxin's influence and reach are rapidly growing. Mingxin transcends its corporate identity to become a community devoted to enriching lives with innovative and eco-conscious material solutions. Our commitment to low-carbon, eco-friendly practices sets new benchmarks for luxury, comfort, and durability in automotive interiors sector. We remain focused on weaving a sustainable future, honoring our roots while advancing with integrity and a deep commitment to sustainability.
Sekisui S-LEC is a global supplier of functional interlayers for automotive glass. Our products enable a range of colors, gradients, and special design features to be encapsulated within the glass, creating clear, pure color profiles across the vehicle glazing. Our goal is to enable designers to carry aesthetics across the entire vehicle body; to include glazing in the CMF theme, rather than design around it. We want to be a partner in the latest exploration of color and design for vehicle glazing for concept, show car, and production builds. We wish to work with OEM design teams to bring their vision and creativity for the next era of vehicle design to fruition. Our interlayer films have a 60+ year history as a safety product - protecting passengers with laminated safety glass. Over the last 20 years our products have evolved to include advancements in Acoustic and Solar Control, UV protection, Head Up Display technology, and now Design Innovation. Our commitment to sustainability spans numerous initiatives, goals, and programs. We strive to balance natural and social capital by focusing on sustainable products, reducing environmental impact, and conserving the environment. Learn more about our products and solutions, and our design services.
Media Partners
As the steward of Detroit’s UNESCO City of Design designation, Design Core tells Detroit’s design story locally and globally. Design Core champions the transformative power of design in Detroit by supporting the creative problem-solvers using design solutions to improve our city’s economy.
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Venue
Welcome to The Henry Hotel, Dearborn, MI
Proud hosts of Car Design Dialogues Detroit 2024
Venue location
The Henry Hotel, Dearborn, MI
Please note that this is not a postal address. Any event materials or shipments will be refused.
300 Town Center Dr, Dearborn
Michigan 48126
United States
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