Who's Where: Simon Cox appointed design director, Infiniti Design London

Infiniti has recruited Simon Cox as design director at its Infiniti Design London studio, which is currently Nissan Design Europe. He will report directly to Infiniti executive design director Alfonso Albaisa.

The new appointment comes as Infiniti attempts to evolve its design strategy by establishing new dedicated design studios, of which the London Paddington studio is the first. Further studios are set to open in San Diego, USA, and Beijing, China.

Nissan chief creative officer Shiro Nakamura says, "We have made the strategic decision to establish dedicated design studios for Infiniti in order to sharpen the Infiniti brand further.

"Simon Cox as the Design Director for the London studio will play a key role in the evolution of Infiniti design," he adds.

Cox, a graduate in Fine Art, Jewellery Design, Production Design and Automotive Design from the Royal College of Art, moves from the role of advanced design consultant global business and product development at Futura Design. During his time there he consulted for Infiniti on cars such as the Emerg-E concept among others. He has previously worked as design director advanced design at General Motors – designing production cars and concepts such as the Cadillac Converj and Sixteen – and has also plied his trade at Ford, Peugeot and Isuzu, where he worked on Isuzu Vehicross and VX2 concepts.

During a four-year stint at Lotus from 1986 to 1990 as senior designer he also worked on the interior of the Esprit X180 under the direction of Peter Stevens.

"Simon brings an enormous wealth of passion and experience to our design team in London. His arrival will enable us to further develop our unique design language," explains Albaisa.

"Taking on the role of Design Director, Infiniti Design London is an exciting challenge," Cox says. "The new Infiniti design studio in London is a great opportunity to develop the Infiniti brand and products from a European perspective."

By Rufus Thompson