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Giorgetto Giugiaro is the Group Chairman of Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. His career came about more by accident than by deliberate choice. In June 1955, Giorgetto Giugiaro indulged a passion for sketching automobiles. His drawings were seen by Dante Giacosa, Technical Director of Fiat, and in September 1955, Giorgetto joined Fiat in its Special Vehicle Design Study Department led by Fabio Luigi Rapi. In December 1959, at the age of 21, Nuccio Bertone hired him to become Head of the Bertone Styling Centre. Mr. Giugiaro readily acknowledges that he owes his career as a designer to Mr. Bertone, for his guidance and advice and training. He first made his name with designs for both concept cars (Aston Martin DB4 GT Jet of 1961, Maserati 5000 GT dated 1961, Ferrari 250 GT developed in 1962, Chevrolet Corvair Testudo presented in 1963, A.R. Canguro unveiled in 1964) and production models (A.R. 2000/2600 Sprint - 1960, BMW 3200 CS - 1961, Iso Rivolta Grifo 300/340 GT - 1962, A.R. Giulia GT - 1963, Fiat 850 spider - 1965, Mazda Luce 1500/1800 - 1965, Fiat Dino coupe – 1967). In November 1965, after six highly intense years at Bertone, Mr. Giugiaro left to join the management of Ghia, another firm of coachbuilders. He was responsible for the styling centre and the prototyping division: Maserati Ghibli and De Tomaso Mangusta date back to this period (they were both presented at the Turin Motor Show in 1966). Some of the research prototypes developed while working for Ghia are Fiat 850 Vanessa (1966) and Oldsmobile Toronado Thor (1967); noteworthy production cars include the Isuzu 117 coupe (1966) and Iso Rivolta Fidia (1967). On February 7th, 1967, Mr. Giugiaro founded his first company, Ital Styling. He invested his professional and financial capital in creating a professional services company for the motor industry, and hence ITALDESIGN was born. Under the ITALDESIGN-GIUGIARO trademark Mr. Giugiaro has officially styled and produced over 200 cars, and developed many others for the world's top manufacturers. Mr. Giugiaro has won numerous design awards, the most prestigious of which include the SIAD Silver Medal of the British Society of Artists and Industrial Designers in 1980 and the special ADI “Golden Compasses” for coachwork design in 1984. He was inducted into the European Automotive Hall of Fame in Geneva in 2001 and the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit in 2002.
Peter Horbury is executive director of Design, North America, responsible for overseeing the design strategy and execution involving all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products in North America. He was appointed to the position Jan. 1, 2004. Mr. Horbury will help the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury design teams further evolve exterior designs on the expanding lineup of cars, trucks, SUVs and crossovers – and help take the brands’ strong interiors to the next level. Since 2002, Mr. Horbury had been the Premier Automotive Group’s executive director of Design, responsible for overseeing future product design strategy and design processes for Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. In this role, Mr. Horbury helped develop vehicles for individual PAG brands, create cross-brand design philosophies and processes and coordinate auto show design strategies and brand merchandizing. Mr. Horbury, 55, has more than two decades of expertise with luxury vehicles. Prior to this appointment, he had been design director of Volvo Car Corporation since 1991, overseeing studios in Sweden, Spain and California. He was instrumental in creating and implementing the stylish new design language in the current range of Volvo products – including the all-new XC90 SUV and award-winning Volvo Safety Concept Car. Prior to joining Volvo, Mr. Horbury worked as director of styling and design at MGA Developments Ltd. in the United Kingdom. In his early career, he worked on key Ford product programs in Europe, such as the Sierra, Escort and Granada, as well as Chrysler vehicles. Born in Alnwick, Northumberland, UK, Mr. Horbury received his master’s degree in Automotive Design from the Royal College of Art in 1974 and an undergraduate degree from Newcastle-upon-Tyne College of Art and Industrial Design in 1972. He was named Autocar’s Designer of the Year in 1998 and during a 30-year career has been actively involved in the design of more than 45 cars as well as trucks, buses and motorcycles.
John Lasseter is executive vice president, creative, and a founding member of Pixar Animation Studios. He is a two-time Academy Award®-winning director and oversees all of Pixar’s films and associated projects. John directed the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed Toy Story, A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2. Additionally, he executive produced Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and Pixar’s latest release, The Incredibles. John returns to the director’s chair with the animated feature film Cars, to be released June 9, 2006. In 2004, John was honored by the Art Directors Guild with its prestigious “Outstanding Contribution To Cinematic Imagery” award, and received an honorary degree from the American Film Institute. Under John’s supervision, Pixar’s animated feature and short films have received a multitude of critical accolades and film industry honors. John received a Special Achievement Oscar® in 1995 for his inspired leadership of the Toy Story team. His work on Toy Story also resulted in an Academy Award®-nomination for “Best Original Screenplay,” the first time an animated feature had been recognized in that category. Finding Nemo, released spring 2003, became the highest grossing animated feature of all time, and won the Oscar® for “Best Animated Feature Film.” As creative director of Pixar, John enjoyed the critical acclaim and box office success of The Incredibles in 2004. The film has been recognized with a record-breaking 16 Annie Award nominations and several “Best Of” awards by The Wall Street Journal, American Film Institute, National Board of Review and many others. John also has written, directed and animated a number of highly renowned short films and television commercials for Pixar, including Luxo Jr. (1986 Academy Award® nominee); Red’s Dream (1987); Tin Toy (1988 Academy Award® winner); and Knickknack (1989), which was produced as a 3D stereoscopic film. Pixar’s Tin Toy became the first computer animated film to win an Oscar® when it received the 1988 Academy Award® for Best Animated Short Film. Prior to the formation of Pixar in 1986, Mr. Lasseter was a member of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm Ltd., where he designed and animated the computer-generated Stained Glass Knight character in the 1985 Steven Spielberg-produced film Young Sherlock Holmes. John attended the inaugural year of the Character Animation program at California Institute of the Arts and received his B.F.A. in film there in 1979. While attending California Institute of the Arts Mr. Lasseter produced two animated films, both winners of the Student Academy Award® for Animation; Lady and the Lamp in 1979 and Nitemare in 1980. His very first award came at the age of five when he won $15.00 from the Model Grocery Market in Whittier, California, for a crayon drawing of the Headless Horseman.
Stephen Murkett joined Porsche AG in 1983 in the design department as a concept studio designer. In 1986, he transitioned to an interior studio designer and moved on to become an exterior studio senior designer in 1989. In 1990, he became an advanced studio design manager. In 1998, Stephen Murkett was named design manager responsible for the Cayenne Model line. Mr. Murkett graduated from the Cambridge College of Art and Technology in 1978 and from Birmingham Polytechnic with a degree in industrial design in 1981. He followed that up with a master’s degree in automotive design from the Royal College of Art in 1983.
Joel Piaskowski was named Chief Designer at the Hyundai Kia Design and Technical Center in Irvine, Calif. when it opened in January of 2003. Piaskowski is responsible for all design operations at the center. Piaskowski is a graduate of the Center for Creative Studies (now College for Creative Studies) in Detroit, Michigan where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree specializing in Transportation Design. He also served a one-year tour at the Opel Design Center in Russelsheim, Germany; worked at the Isuzu Design Center in Fujisawa, Japan for six months which included a one-month sub-assignment in Torino, Italy and finally worked at Suzuki’s Design Center in Hamamatsu, Japan. During his time at the Hyundai Kia Design and Technical Center, Piaskowski has guided his young and talented design team on three new production vehicles and the exciting HCD8 concept car that was unveiled in January 2004 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan.
Richard “Dicky” Riegel, 39, is Group President of Thor Industries, Inc, the world’s largest RV manufacturer and North America’s largest builder of small- and mid-sized transit buses. Thor is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol THO. The corporation is comprised of 15 independent subsidiaries that manufacture travel trailers, fifth wheel trailers, class A, B and C motor homes, and shuttle and transit buses. Thor’s RV companies command approximately 29% market share and its bus divisions account for 44% of the mid-sized transit bus market. Thor is unequivocally the top performer in both of its segments, employing a uniquely effective autonomous and entrepreneurial business model that drives results. Thor brands include Airstream, Keystone, Dutchmen, Four Winds, ElDorado National, Damon, Crossroads, Komfort, Champion and more. Prior to becoming Group President of Thor, Riegel was President and CEO of Airstream. World-renowned for quality, innovation and design since its founding in 1931, Airstream has been among the very fastest growing companies in the recreation vehicle industry in recent years. Contributors to growth include a well-rounded and talented management team, and an unrelenting focus on Airstream’s authentic brand, product and service offering. Due to its pace of growth and commitment to innovation, Airstream receives considerable recent media attention. Riegel was recently named as one of Fast Company Magazine’s “Fast 50” in March, 2005, and was recognized by Harvard Business Review in October, 2003 in an article, “Innovating a Classic at Airstream.” Airstream products have appeared in the last year on NBC’s “The Apprentice”, on Fox’s “The Simple Life 2,” on the Travel Channel’s “Made in America,” and in numerous motion pictures, television commercials and print ads. Fortune Magazine named Airstream as one of its top 25 products of 2004. Prior to Airstream, Riegel was Thor’s VP Corporate Development, with responsibility for both internal and external development programs, including acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and programs and processes to support each of Thor’s 15 companies. During Riegel’s 4-year tenure with Thor, it doubled sales due to key acquisitions and organic growth. Riegel led Thor’s watershed event in 2001, when it acquired Keystone RV for $151 million. The acquisition of Keystone, a $400 million company in 2001, catapulted Thor into its current leadership position in the RV industry. Keystone sales will well exceed $1.2 billion in 2005. Riegel also positioned Thor as a technology leader by developing a zero-emissions fuel cell hybrid transit bus that continues to operate today. This revolutionary product is the world’s only hydrogen fuel cell powered bus to be used in revenue service. Riegel developed marketing expertise during a 9-year career in advertising, working as an account manager from 1988 through 1996 at leading New York agencies including McCann-Erickson, Hill Holliday, and McCaffrey and McCall. Clients served included Mercedes-Benz, Lehn & Fink, General Motors, and Infiniti. His last agency position was Vice President, Account Supervisor at Lowe Worldwide, handling the Sony consumer electronics account, Citibank Credit Cards, and New York Racing Association accounts. Riegel was the youngest Vice President at the agency. The career switch, from advertising & marketing to general management of a manufacturing company, was propelled by a Masters of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School in 1998. Riegel concentrated in Finance and Marketing, receiving honors. His undergraduate degree in Art and Architecture was earned from Middlebury College, Vermont, in 1988.
Bob Wheeler, 39, is President and CEO of Airstream, Inc., which has produced the world’s pre-eminent travel trailers since 1931. Since its inception, the Airstream “silver bullet” trailer has occupied a unique place in the hearts and minds of Americans both young and old. In recent years Airstream has experienced a resurgence of public interest fueled by a company focus on product design and a marketing campaign designed to answer the question “Do they still make those things”? Since 2002 the company has more than doubled in size, and the market for Airstream today is stronger than ever. Prior to his current role at the company, Mr. Wheeler spent 3 years as Airstream’s VP of Product Development and Engineering. In this capacity he crafted product and business strategy, drove development programs, and expanded product offerings for both towable and motorized products. In particular, Mr. Wheeler spearheaded development of Airstream’s new BaseCamp trailer, which has allowed unparalleled design freedom while maintaining a focus on the three founding principles of the company: design, quality, and innovation. Prior to his tenure with Airstream, Mr. Wheeler served with other Thor Industries divisions as Director of Purchasing for Dutchmen, Inc, Director of Operations for Aero Coach, and Director of Product Development for Fleetwood, Inc.’s, American Coach Division. Mr. Wheeler began his working career at General Motors, where he served as a facilities and manufacturing engineer in the Saginaw Steering Gear (now American Axle & Mfg., Inc.) facility in Buffalo, NY. Mr. Wheeler has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, and an MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo. |
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