Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has announced that Jozef Kabaň has been appointed Head of Design.
Kabaň, 46, is an experienced and talented designer, having spent the majority of his career at a senior level in automotive design. Kabaň joins Rolls-Royce Motor Cars from the BMW Group where he has been Head of Design Studio BMW since 2017.
Passionate about car design and art from an early age, and with an obsession for detail, Kabaň completed his studies in Bratislava and London, concluding with a Master of Art in Car Design at the Royal College of Art in London. Aged just 20, Kabaň was one of the youngest ever designers to join the VW Group. He progressed rapidly, and in 1998 he was awarded project lead for the Bugatti Veyron, for which he designed the exterior. He gained global recognition for the design, demonstrating his ability, even at this early stage in his career, to combine the automotive world with those of luxury and art.
His success led to a desire to continue broadening his experience in the automotive field, leading to Head of Exterior roles, first at Audi AG and then Skoda Auto. At Skoda he was recognised for revolutionising the manufacturer’s design ethos, significantly influencing the design and emotionality of the brand through a broad range of models. Throughout this period of his career he also maintained design responsibility for small volume projects, including limited and special editions and show cars.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said, “I am delighted to announce that Jozef Kabaň has been appointed Head of Design. He is an exceptionally talented designer with a strong track record and a wide breadth of ability. It is testament to the success of our business that, as the world’s leading luxury house, we are able to attract the world’s very best design talent.” He continued, “This is an exciting time for our brand and I look forward to welcoming Jozef to the Rolls-Royce family.”
Adrian van Hooydonk, Chief Designer, BMW Group, commented, “The Rolls-Royce Design Team creates outstanding motor cars and luxury objects. I am convinced that Jozef Kabaň will guide this phenomenal team into a very bright future indeed.”
Kabaň is married with a daughter and a son and will be based at the company’s design studios in Goodwood, West Sussex and Munich.
Josef Kabaň originates from Slovakia. He completed a degree in Product and Industrial Design from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia in 1993. He graduated with a Master of Art in Car Design from the Royal College of Art, London, UK in 1997.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BMW Group and is a completely separate company from Rolls-Royce plc, the manufacturer of aircraft engines and propulsion systems. Over 2,000 skilled men and women are employed at the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ head office and manufacturing plant at Goodwood, West Sussex, the only place in the world where the company’s super-luxury motor cars are hand-built.
