Pierre Leclercq Succeeds Mark Adams as Head of Design of Opel and Vauxhall

• Pierre Leclercq to lead Opel and Vauxhall design with immediate effect
• Mark Adams to retire after almost 25 years with Opel and Vauxhall

Pierre Leclercq has been appointed Head of Design for Opel and Vauxhall with immediate effect. Leclercq succeeds Mark Adams, who is retiring after almost 25 years with the company. Leclercq will continue to report to Florian Huettl, CEO of Opel and Vauxhall, and Gilles Vidal, Stellantis Head of Design for European Brands. The Belgian national will also join the Opel Executive Committee. Until now, the 54-year-old has served as Head of Design for Citroën. In this role, he helped strengthen the brand’s identity and supported the renewal of its product range.

“I would like to thank Mark Adams for his commitment, inspiration and service for almost a quarter of a century. Mark served as Vice President Design longer than any of his predecessors. His work and vision have shaped what Opel and Vauxhall are today. We wish him the very best for his well-deserved retirement. At the same time, we are delighted to welcome Pierre Leclercq as Head of Design. His global background and vision are tremendous assets in supporting the evolution of Opel and Vauxhall,” said Florian Huettl.

“Pierre has a deep understanding of brand identity and a recognised ability to translate strategic vision into desirable products. His international experience, creativity, and high standards will be invaluable assets in continuing the development of Opel Design and reinforcing its unique positioning within the European market. I would also like to warmly thank Mark Adams for his contribution to the development of Opel Design. His work has helped shape the modern face of Opel and Vauxhall and strengthen their personality over the past years. We wish him all the best for this new chapter in his life,” said Gilles Vidal.

Pierre Leclercq graduated from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, in 1998. He began his career at Ford’s Ghia design studio in Italy before joining BMW Group in 2000. Over the following decade, he worked across BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, before being appointed Head of Design for BMW M, the brand’s high-performance division, in 2011.

He subsequently pursued an international career, becoming Head of Design at Great Wall Motors in China in 2013, before joining Kia Motors in South Korea as Design Director in 2017. On November 1, 2018, he became Head of Citroën Design. Since then, Pierre Leclercq has helped shape a renewed design identity for the Citroën line-up. He has led the design of a broad range of models and concepts, including the 2 CV and 2 CV Fourgonnette concepts unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, ELO and OLI, the new C3, C3 Aircross and Basalt, the new Ami, C4 and C4 X, and the new C5 Aircross.

Mark Adams has had a long and stellar career in the automotive industry for over 40 years. After already holding various Chief designer and Executive positions at Ford in Europe and the US, he joined Opel and Vauxhall in 2002 as Director of Exterior Design to spearhead the development of a new exterior design philosophy. He was promoted to Vice President Design in 2007 and has led all production and concept vehicles since then. These include many production vehicles such as the Corsa, ADAM, Mokka, Astra and Insignia, as well as some inspirational and iconic concepts like the 2003 Insignia Concept, 2013 Monza Concept, 2016 GT Concept and the 2018 GTX Experimental, a car that heavily inspired the current generation Opel Mokka.

Adams has also been the driving force behind Opel’s ‘Bold and Pure’ design language, which was started back in 2017 and introduced the Opel ‘Vizor’ brand face, the Opel ‘Compass’ and the interior ‘Pure Panel’, which have now been rolled out to every vehicle within the Opel and Vauxhall portfolio.

He has more recently been crafting the brands next ambitious step forward for its exterior and interior design language. The creative exterior direction is visible on Opel’s most recent concept car, the STX Concept, which celebrated its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show and shows the next confident step of ‘Bold and Pure’, which will influence future Opel models.