Luc Donckerwolke | |
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| Born | |
| Occupation | Car designer |
| Employer | |
Luc Donckerwolke (born 19 June 1965) is a Peruvian-Belgianautomotive designer,[1] president, and chief creative officer of the Hyundai Motor Group and theGenesis automotive brand.[2] Prior to joining the Hyundai Motor Group, he was thedesign director atVolkswagen Group'sBentley,Lamborghini,Škoda, andAudi brands.[3][4] In 2022, a jury panel of 102 journalists among 33 countries named Donckerwolke the "World Car Person of the Year" for significantly impacting the automotive industry.[5][6]
Donckerwolke was born inLima, Peru, and educated in various South American and African countries before studyingindustrial engineering inBrussels and transportation design inVevey, Switzerland.[7]
He has a residence in Germany and in Brussels. His hobbies includemotor racing, old cars, foreign cultures and learning languages. He speaks Dutch, Italian, French, Spanish, English, German, Korean, Mandarin, Japanese and Swahili.[8]
Donckerwolke began his design career in 1990 withPeugeot in France. In 1992 he moved toIngolstadt for a two-year stint atAudi Design. He spent 1994 to 1996 working at theŠkoda Design Center in Mlada Boleslav, in the Czech Republic, where he contributed to the 1996Škoda Octavia and 1999Škoda Fabia.
After Škoda he returned to Audi responsible for concept development, operating out of Ingolstadt for one year andMunich for another. It was during this time he worked on theAudi A4 Avant and theAudi R8 Le Mans Racer. During his time at Audi, Donckerwolke was also responsible for the design of theAudi A2 concept and production car, which was known at the time for being innovative and ahead of its time, like many of his designs.
He was head of design atLamborghini from 1998, where he was responsible for the 2001Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0, 2002Lamborghini Murciélago and 2004Lamborghini Gallardo, winning the 'Red Dot Award' in 2003 in recognition for his work on them. He also worked withWalter de'Silva to produce the 2006Lamborghini Miura concept.
In September 2005, Donckerwolke was appointedSEAT Design Director overseeing the design of future SEAT models, replacing Walter de'Silva who was promoted to oversee design for the entire Audi Brand Group. He was tasked with progressing SEAT design from Walter de'Silva's directorship to a look that would bring increased brand awareness and sales to the marque. His first visible contribution to SEAT was theSEAT Tribu concept, unveiled at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show; he later penned the 2008SEAT Ibiza.
In September 2012, Donckerwolke was appointedBentleyDirector of Design, overseeing the design of future Bentley models, replacingDirk van Braeckel who moved toVolkswagen Group Design. In June 2015 Bentley announcedStefan Sielaff as his successor: "Mr Sielaff replaces Mr Donckerwolke who has decided to leave the business andVolkswagen AG".[9]
In November 2015, he was tapped to leadHyundai Motor Group'sGenesis luxury brand from 2016[10] and work together withHyundai-Kia's chief designerPeter Schreyer. Donckerwolke replacedPeter Schreyer asChief Design Officer ofHyundai Motor Group in 2017,[11] a position from which he resigned in April 2020.[12]
In November 2020, Donckerwolke rejoined Hyundai Motor Group asChief Creative Officer (CCO) of the Group and the Genesis brand.[13] He was named President of the Hyundai Motor Group in November 2022, retaining the position of CCO.[14]
After an absence of several months, Luc Donckerwolke rejoins the Hyundai Group...the highly regarded designer, who had been with the group since 2016, will return in a new and global, Europe-based position overseeing design...Donckerwolke is expected to focus particularly on Genesis and the Ioniq sub-brand.
Genesis is proud to announce that the World Car Awards jury panel has named Luc Donckerwolke, Executive Vice President for Design and Chief Creative Officer (CCO), its 2022 World Car Person of the Year...the accolade recognizes automotive industry professionals who have made a significant impact with their contributions in the year leading up to the award. The World Car Awards jury members representing 102 journalists from 33 countries cited Donckerwolke's role overseeing innovative new models, including the Genesis GV60, as the principal reason for honoring him this year.
