On 1 August, Oliver Heilmer will step into the role of President of Designworks, a wholly owned subsidiary of the BMW Group. This will see him move from the Interior Design team at BMW Automobiles in Munich, which he has headed up since 2013, to Designworks’ Los Angeles HQ. Designworks is a creative consultancy working across multiple industries and focusing on mobility, product and user experience design, as well as on strategic brand and design consultancy.
Taking over the top job at Designworks means Heilmer will be responsible for the company’s strategy, oversee the studios in North America, Europe and Asia, and therefore spearhead the management of all the design teams. Heilmer takes the baton from Laurenz Schaffer, who has been President of Designworks since 2009 and is now switching to a management role at BMW Group Design.
Oliver Heilmer, 39, replaced Marc Girard as head of Interior Design in 2013. The Munich native has been part of the Interior Design BMW Automobiles team since 2000 and was responsible for the design of the BMW 5 Series, among other assignments.
