This Belgian is Luc Donckerwolke, Hyundai Motor Group’s Executive Vice President for Design and Chief Creative Officer, or vice-president of design for the Hyundai-Kia automotive group.
“Mr Donckerwolke was chosen by the jury because he was responsible for the design of several highly innovative new models, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Genesis GV60 and Kia EV6, which have been launched over the past year. In addition, its restomod Pony and Grandeur models paid homage to Korea’s great and often overlooked automotive heritage.” says the jury in its press release.
Before his post in South Korea, Luc Donckerwolke notably learned his skills within the Volkswagen group, notably at Lamborghini where he signed the Murcielago and Gallardo. He joined Hyundai-Kia in 2016, first as head of design, where he signed the Genesis in particular, before taking charge of design communication.
“I have worked for many companies and brands during my career and I am delighted with the recognition that the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands have received. They are a true reflection of the effort of all employees, retailers and Hyundai Motor Group partners who have worked tirelessly to develop a strong range of attractive and relevant vehicles for sale in more than 200 countries worldwide” commented the winner.
Donckerwolke was in the running with 5 other finalists: Shailesh Chandra “Managing Director Passenger Vehicle Business Unit” at Tata Motors; James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin, creators and executive producers of the Netflix series “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”; Tadge Juechter, Executive Engineer of the Last Corvette; and Linda Zhang, Chief Engineer of the Ford F-150 Lightning, an electric variant of the famous American pick-up.