HONG KONG: Guess where Karim Habib has landed? The
former BMW design chief
is now heading Infiniti Design.
He will be based at the company’s technical centre in Atsugi, Japan and lead the global design teams in Japan; Beijing; San Diego and London. He will report to Alfonso Albaisa, newly appointed Nissan senior vice-president for global design.
“Karim is very skilled at capturing the heart and passion of a brand while at the same time giving each design its unique character. I look forward to Karim inspiring our teams to shape the next generation of Infinitis,” said Albaisa.
At BMW, Habib was responsible for production and concept cars such as the X1, the X2 Concept and the CSL Homage. Before this, as head of advanced design for Daimler, he worked on the current Mercedes-Benz C-Class as well as the new Smart. He started his career at BMW in Advanced Design where he was responsible for the design of the previous 7 Series and the Concept CS.
Habib is qualified as a mechanical engineer and has a design degree from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, in the United States.
BMW has recently appointed
Jozef Kaban
to replace Habib.
Keyword: Ex-BMW design chief Karim Habib now with Infiniti