This year, the Porsche Design brand celebrates its 50th anniversary. At the same time, Porsche Lifestyle GmbH & Co. KG has filled the position of Chief Designer as of 1 April 2023. Roland Heiler, the long-standing CDO of the Porsche Lifestyle Group and Managing Director of Porsche Design GmbH, will be succeeded by Carsten Monnerjan. As the new Managing Director of Porsche Design GmbH, the designer and manager is to lead the creative team at the Studio F. A. Porsche in Zell am See and “drive forward even closer collaboration in future between the worldwide Porsche Design Studios in Zell am See, Berlin, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Ludwigsburg, as well as with the Style Porsche Studio in Weissach”.
“It is great that we have been able to recruit Carsten Monnerjan to succeed us as Head of Design for the Porsche Lifestyle Group. With him, we have found the ideal person for this position. Through his previous professional positions, he has always worked at the interface between automotive and lifestyle product design and has been able to gain extensive international experience. This is of great interest both for the design of our brand and for industrial customers of Studios F. A. Porsche”, said Stefan Buescher, CEO of the Porsche Lifestyle Group. Monnerjan and his team are also to work even more closely with the team led by Michael Mauer, Head of Style Porsche at Porsche AG, in the future. The aim is “to transfer the brand-typical design DNA of the sports car manufacturer even more consistently to the products of the Porsche Lifestyle Group”. “The increased cooperation between the design areas of the Porsche Design and Porsche brands once again underlines the strategic importance of the design area,” said Mauer. “Future products – also away from the automobile – will be even more consistently aligned with our design DNA. In addition, by working closely together, we are pooling capacities and contributing to the future viability of our products through a consistent brand identity in the luxury segment.”
Carsten Monnerjan headed the Audi design studio in Munich between 2008 and 2012; in his last professional position, he was “Head of Design” at the Audi subsidiary “Italdesign”. Commenting on his future task, he said: “It is a great honour and pleasure to become part of this iconic brand. For me, good design is as little as possible and as much as necessary. This is also in line with the premise of the company’s founder, F. A. Porsche, to reduce design to the essentials. I am looking forward to contributing my experience and creativity to the team and at the same time enjoying the well-known Porsche design philosophy and innovative strength. These are ideal conditions for setting new trends, reacting agilely to the needs of the times and further developing the product portfolio of the Porsche Lifestyle Group in an exciting way.”
Roland Heiler is saying goodbye to retirement. He has successfully developed the Porsche Design brand over decades and has significantly shaped its timeless and purist design. In addition to his work at Porsche Design, he served for many years as a juror for the German Design Award and has been a member of the Executive Committee of the German Design Council for many years. In this honorary role, he will continue to be committed to design.
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