Ford Motor Co. is shaking up its design team to shorten product development cycles and better define the group's overarching strategy.
The changes expand Ford's strategic design group to enable designers to work more collaboratively at a centralized location in Dearborn, Mich. Designers are grouped into two camps: one covering cars and crossovers, and another handling trucks, SUVs and commercial vehicles.
The automaker is bringing Joel Piaskowski, director of Ford of Europe design, to the U.S. as global director of design overseeing cars and crossovers. Chris Svensson, design director of the Americas, has been named global director of design overseeing trucks, SUVs and commercial vehicles.