U.S.: Hyundai Technical Centre names Phillip Zak as Chief Designer

"Phillip's strong experience in working across multiple regions and his leadership role on advanced projects was exactly what we were looking for," said C.K. Park, president, HATCI. "We are thrilled to have Phillip Zak as chief designer for Hyundai and continue the strong momentum of our vehicle designs."

Zak has more than 20 years of automotive design experience and most recently served as the design director for General Motors Europe where he was responsible for all Opel and Saab exterior production design work and future strategies. Zak started his career at General Motors in 1988 as a designer sketching new vehicle concepts. During his 20-year career at General Motors he held various positions including lead designer, chief designer and design manager.

Throughout his career at General Motors he had design responsibility for numerous models including the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, 2010 GMC Terrain, 2009 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle, 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt Program and Pontiac G-6 show and production car. Earlier in his career he held design responsibility for the 2001 Oldsmobile Bravada, 2000 Oldsmobile Aurora, 1999 Oldsmobile Profile show-car and 1995 GM Racing Aurora GTS race car design.

"Phillip Zak is an outstanding addition to the design team at HATCI," said John Krafcik, acting president and chief executive officer, Hyundai Motor America. "We are proud to add such a talented individual to lead the team of dedicated designers at HATCI that will continue to develop innovative vehicles for both the United States and global auto markets."

Zak holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Cleveland Institute of Art and was a recipient of the Gund C.I.A. Traveling Scholarship.

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[I]Phillip Zak[/I]

Credits: JRC