Juanma Lopez Joins Genesis Design Europe

Genesis has announced the appointment of JuanMa Lopez as Head of Genesis Design Europe. He started his new role on November 1, 2022. Lopez will be based in Frankfurt, Germany, and report to Ilhun Yoon, Head of Genesis Design.

“I have been watching the Genesis brand grow globally for the past seven years and am delighted to have the opportunity to become part of the organization,” said Lopez. “I am looking forward to leading the team as we continue to develop new proposals for global markets.”

Lopez joins Genesis Design at a period of rapid development. Along with the design teams in Namyang, South Korea, and Los Angeles, California, the European design team is essential in providing creative input for global projects. Tasked with developing exterior, interior and concept car proposals, the team competes and contributes to production programs and advanced design projects.

A Barcelona native, Lopez has more than three decades of experience in engineering and design. He began his career as an industrial engineer developing projects within the automotive, nautical, electronic, telecommunications and domestic appliance industries before transitioning to product and graphic design. He became an automotive designer in 2000 and has since worked in a number of exterior and interior design roles, most recently leading a team of more than 300 designers in a global role.

“We are very excited to welcome JuanMa Lopez into the audacious journey of the Genesis brand in Europe, the origin of luxury,” said SangYup Lee, Genesis Global Head of Design. “His brand experience spans a wide spectrum, and we look forward to collaborative synergies within our global design dream team.”

As an automotive designer, Lopez has held several assignments within the Volkswagen Group brands. He was an automotive designer for the Group’s Spanish subsidiary SEAT; was responsible for Interior Design at Lamborghini; was Advanced Design manager responsible for Audi show cars; and was Head of Interior Design for both the Audi and SEAT brands. Lopez was also Head of Exterior and Interior Design at Ferrari before taking on a global role as Exterior Design Director and Creative Design Director at BYD and Changan, respectively.

With his accumulated expertise and diverse global experience, Lopez will be an asset to the global Genesis design team. He will now lead a team of talented designers from varied nationalities based in a new design studio in Offenbach am Main, east Frankfurt. The creation of the new studio—which merges brand and design functions in one facility—not only provides the designers with a new, dedicated work space, but will also allow for the team to expand.

“I am glad to have JuanMa Lopez join the Genesis design team,” said Luc Donckerwolke, Chief Creative Officer for Genesis and the Hyundai Motor Group. “Having worked together at Lamborghini and SEAT, I highly appreciate his talent, management skills and social behavior. He will be instrumental in building a strong Genesis design team to support the teams in Korea and California.”