Who's Where: Amko Leenarts appointed Ford's Director of Global Interiors Design Strategy

Amko Leenarts has been appointed Director of Global Interiors Design Strategy at Ford Motor Company, effective from 1 June 2012.

Leenarts will be tasked with developing the future interior design strategy for both the Ford and Lincoln brands worldwide, working alongside the company's global leadership team and reporting directly to J Mays, Group Vice President of Global Design and Chief Creative Officer at Ford Motor Company. He will be based in the company's Merkenich studio in Germany.

"Working for Ford is a dream come true," Leenarts told Car Design News. "It's an honor to become part of such a process and collaborating with a world player with such strong history and a proven record of innovation culture."

Leenarts joins Ford after 12 years at PSA Peugeot-Citroen, having held the position of Head of Interiors, Peugeot Design since 2008. During his time at Peugeot he was responsible for setting up a specialized interior design studio, being responsible for design process, the people involved and the end product.

His studio was responsible for the interior designs of the SX-1, BB-1, HR-1, EX-1 and SXC concepts as well as the HX-1, a car he feels represents the highlight of his former team's achievements. The latest Peugeot 508 and innovative 208 production cars were also developed under his guidance.

Amko holds an undergraduate degree in Interior Architecture from the Academy of Arts in Groningen, Netherlands and a Masters of Fine Arts in Transportation Design from the Royal College of Art in London, UK, from where he graduated in 2000.

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By Owen Ready