BMW hires former Polestar design boss as part of creative team reshuffle

BMW Group has added former Polestar head of design Maximilian Missoni to its team.

Missoni will oversee the design of upper-midsize and luxury-class models at the company's namesake brand, as well as BMW Alpina.

Missoni, 46, spent the first decade of his design career at Volkswagen Group, moving to Volvo in 2012 as head of exterior design.

The Austrian teamed with Thomas Ingenlath to reimagine the look and feel of the Volvo lineup under its new owner Chinese owner, Zhejiang Geely Holding, which bought Volvo from Ford Motor in 2010.

Some of the key models that emerged were the second-generation XC90 flagship SUV and the second-generation XC60 midsize crossover, which remains Volvo's global bestseller.

In 2018, about a year after Ingenlath was named CEO of Polestar, Missoni went back to work for his former boss. (Ingenlath was Volvo's head of design before taking over the EV brand.)

As Polestar design chief, Missoni spent six years creating the brand's design language.

Some of the results are rolling out this year as the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 start to reach customers in Europe and around the world. One of the most striking models he designed at the EV maker was the Polestar 6 roadster.

His work defining the Polestar lineup earned Missoni the 2022 Automotive News Europe Eurostar for design of multiple models.

Polestar said Aug. 21 that Missoni would leave the company. His successor is former Audi design executive Philipp Roemers. Ingenlath, whose resignation was announced Aug. 28, will be replaced by former Opel/Vauxhall CEO Michael Lohscheller. The changes take effect Oct. 1.

Missoni's hiring is part of BMW styling boss Adrian van Hooydonk's sweeping reorganization of the division to create a cross-brand team "to meet changing demands for future-oriented vehicle design," the automaker said Sept. 13.

Also new to the team is Claudia Braun, who will head the newly created cross-brand department for color and material design for BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce. Braun, 47, had been managing color and materials for the BMW brand since April. She previously worked for Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Polestar and Rivian.

Also changing roles at BMW are:

• Oliver Heilmer will be responsible for the design of all compact and midsize BMW models as well as BMW M. He was previously head of Mini design.
• Holger Hampf will take charge of Mini design. He was previously head of BMW Group Designworks.
• Anders Warming will oversee all advanced design topics, as well as the BMW Group Designworks subsidiary. He was previously head of Rolls-Royce design.
• Domagoj Dukec will lead Rolls-Royce design, including its Bespoke and Coachbuild units. He was previously head of the BMW design studio.