Ford Names New Design Chief for Asia/Pacific Region

Ford names Michigan native Joel Piaskowski its new Australia-based Asia/Pacific design director.

Based at Ford's Asia/Pacific Product Development Center in Melbourne, Piaskowski has overall responsibility for the design of new products developed within the Asia/Pacific region. He also will lead the Ford design teams in China and India and report directly to Martin Smith, executive design director for Europe and Asia/Pacific.

After joining Ford in October 2010, Piaskowski became Ford’s North American director- exterior design, filling a position previously vacated by Moray Callum, who was promoted to executive director of Ford Americas design.

Piaskowski has held a number of key design positions in Europe and North America and is credited with leading the teams responsible for the creation of several highly acclaimed vehicles for both Asia and Europe.

Piaskowski graduated in 1990 from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, specializing in transportation design.

He replaces Christopher Svensson, who takes Piaskowski’s former position in the U.S. as exterior design director for Ford North America. Svensson had been at Ford Australia since June 2010.

“Australia is recognized as one of three global centers of excellence for design in the Ford world, and I look forward to helping drive the team to even greater heights,” Piaskowski says in a statement.

“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.”