LONDON — Rolls-Royce has appointed former Mini design chief Anders Warming to head up its design team, which has lacked a director since Jozef Kaban left in 2019.
Warming, 48, takes up the position July 1, Rolls-Royce said in a statement.
“Anders joins us as we move forward to full electrification of our brand, which will shape Rolls-Royce for decades to come,” CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös said in the statement.
Warming left the BMW Group in 2016 after six years leading design at Mini. He previously spent three years as head of exterior design at BMW. He briefly joined the Chinese-backed Borgward brand before starting his own design studio in 2019.
BMW said at the time the departure was amicable, paving the way for his return. Rolls-Royce is owned by the BMW Group.
The ultraluxury brand has lacked a design chief since former head of design for Skoda, Jozef Kaban, left the company after just six months to rejoin the VW Group as head of design for the Volkswagen brand.
Kaban was a belated appointment to replace Giles Taylor, who left Rolls-Royce in 2018 to lead design at the Hongqi luxury brand from Chinese automaker FAW.