New design head to take over mid-2008

The diploma’ed designer, aged 39, is to succeed Professor Peter Pfeiffer, who will be retiring after forty years of service with the company. Currently, Gorden Wagener heads the Strategic Advanced Design department and as such acts as director of the Mercedes design studios in California and Japan.

“Gorden Wagener will continue the successful work of Professor Peter Pfeiffer. He was involved to a considerable degree in developing the design of the passenger car models currently on the market, and will lead the Mercedes design into the future with his new and creative ideas”, said Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Daimler Board of Management.

Gorden Wagener has worked for Mercedes-Benz since 1997. As head of the Advanced Design department, Wagener is among the pioneers within the Stuttgartautomotive brand who develop future vehicle concepts and work towards the realisation of new design strategies. Wagener and his team showcased their ideas for the premium automobile of the future with their much-noted research vehicle F 700, which was presented by Mercedes-Benz in the fall of 2007.

The incumbent Mercedes Head of Design studied Industrial Design at the University of Essen in Germany and later focussed on Transportation Design at the Royal College of Art in London.

He began his career as Exterior Designer in 1995, and joined Mercedes-Benz in Sindelfingen two years later. In 1999, he became head of the Exterior / Interior Styling department, designing the models of the GL-, M- and R-Class with his team. In 2002, Wagener was responsible for the design of the models making up the A-, B-, C-, E-, CLK- and CLS-Class. Since 2006, the diploma’ed designer has been directing the Advanced Design department and acted as director of the Mercedes design studios in California and Japan. He was appointed as head of Strategic Advanced Design in 2007.

Credits: Jarvis