Who's Where: Fabio Filippini appointed Design Director at Pininfarina

Famed Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina will soon welcome a new Design Director into the fold. Fabio Filippini, an Italian who has worked in France, Japan and Spain, will join the design house from April 1 2011, filling the roll previously vacated by Lowie Vermeersch late last year.

Fabio Filippini joins Pininfarina from his previous role as Vice President of Interiors at Renault Design. A graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at Milan Politecnico, Filippini’s appointment effectively brings him back full-circle to Turin, the city where he started his automotive design career in 1985, working for now defunct design consultancy Open Design.

Filippini’s career took him to Japan before joining Renault's Advanced Design Studio in 1993. While there, he worked on such vehicles as the Initiale concept, which made its debut at the 1995 Frankfurt motor show. Filippini later moved to Spain as Interior Design Supervisor for the Volkswagen Group before returning to Renault.

Upon his return, Filippini was instrumental in setting up and directing Renault’s Design Paris satellite studio and later led the team that developed the new Megane and Scenic while Director of Renault’s C-Platform range. In 2008, he became Vice President of Interior Design of the Renault Group and was responsible for Interior Design strategies and projects for all Group brands (Renault, Dacia, RSM). In parallel, he managed the Renault Design activities for Latin America, through the Renault Design Latin America satellite studio in São Paulo.

Fabio Filippini joins a team of 100 highly skilled designers reinforcing the long term Pininfarina strategy, which aims to maintain its global leadership position in design.

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By Eric Gallina