Christopher Svensson appointed Director of Design, Ford Asia Pacific and Africa

Christopher Svensson has recently been appointed as Director of Design, Ford Asia Pacific and Africa. He takes over the role from Scott Strong.

Based in Melbourne, Australia, Svensson and his team will be designing products not only for the local regions but also global vehicles in competition with Ford's studios in Europe and North America. He reports directly to Martin Smith, Executive Design Director, Ford of Europe.

Svensson joined Ford in 1992 as an exterior designer in Ford's Köln studio after graduating from the Royal College of Art. Here his design themes were chosen for the first-generation Ka, Puma and Cougar.

Since then he has held a wide range of roles within the company, the most recent of which was as Chief Designer, Commercial Vehicles in Europe, a position he'd held since 2007. Based in the UK, Svensson was also head of the Dunton design studio.

During his time at the Design Strategy Group and as B-platform Exterior Design Manager in Europe, he is also credited with development work on a huge portfolio of production and concept vehicles.

When we caught up with him recently and asked what motivated him to move 'down under', Svensson's reply was: "I've always looked for challenges and I've always been excited by challenges."

And his biggest challenge in his new role so far? "Trying to understanding the different cultural requirements...ultimately it's important to really understand your customer."

Look out for our full interview with Christopher Svensson over the coming weeks.

By Owen Ready