Laurenz Schaffer Appointed President of BMW Group’s DesignworksUSA

There's a game of musical chairs being played at DesignworksUSA, the BMW Group's design consultancy subsidiary. Starting December 1 this year, two key executives will be taking on new roles within the design consultancy, while the company's current President will be moving on to a new position within BMW Group Design.

The first appointment is that of Laurenz Schaffer, currently Director of the Munich studio of BMW Group DesignworksUSA. Schaffer has been appointed to succeed Verena Kloos in the overall management of the subsidiary's head office in Newbury Park, California, near Los Angeles. "With his many years of experience in numerous areas of design, Laurenz Schaffer has made a significant contribution in recent years to strengthening DesignworksUSA as an international driving force in BMW Group Design and in making the studio an appealing partner also for external customers," Adrian van Hooydonk, Director BMW Group Design stated.

Schaffer first worked as a product designer with renowned design studios in Stuttgart, Munich, and San Francisco before joining the Munich-based studio of BMW Group DesignworksUSA in 1998. He took over management of the Munich studio in 2000. In his new function Schaffer will focus on the ongoing development of DesignworksUSA as an international agency for strategic design, spanning the product, automotive and transport design sectors, and further grow its client base through its specialization in brand strategy.

From the start, Schaffer was fascinated by the concept of the DesignworksUSA subsidiary which, with studios in California, Munich and Singapore, has acquired international renown in the world of design. "As an external studio, we are able in cooperation with the BMW Group and its brands and with customers outside of the company, to acquire know-how in many different areas. This benefits both sides", says Schaffer.

Verena Kloos will be moving to head the Department of Context Design and Advanced Development for BMW Group Design in Munich, following 15 years as President of DesignworksUSA. After working for Volkswagen, Mazda and DaimlerChrysler Advanced Design, Kloos joined BMW and DesignworksUSA and was appointed President of the company in September 2004.

The third reshuffle will take place on November 1, 2009, when Niko von Saurma-Jeltsch will be taking over the Munich studio from Schaffer. Until 2008, von Saurma-Jeltsch was the President of the newly-established DesignworksUSA studio in Singapore, after which he was made responsible for design strategy in Munich.

Established in 1972 by design legend Chuck Pelly, DesignworksUSA was taken over by BMW in 1995. Today the design consultancy comes under the responsibility of BMW Group Chief Designer Adrian van Hooydonk, who himself was the subsidiary's President from 2001-2004. DesignworksUSA operates three bases in Europe (Munich), the US (Newbury Park) and Asia (Singapore), with the President of the Los Angeles-based studio running business activities worldwide. The subsidiary has been both a driving force for the design studios of the three BMW Group brands and an innovator for a wide range of customers in many areas of design.

Related Article:
BMW DesignworksUSA: Creativity through Diversity
Who's Where: Verena Kloos named President of DesignworksUSA

By Eric Gallina