Amko Leenarts has been a designer at Ford since 2012. Prior to that, he led Interior Design for the Peugeot brand in France. Now Head of Design for Ford of Europe, Leenarts has had a wealth of experience on two continents, speaking different languages and leading teams that create vehicles for different segments in different markets.
In this FORMCAST podcast Amko spoke with me about his time as an architect, pursuing his dream of designing cars and the difficult early days, and how he eventually set down his chosen path at age 27. We also spoke about how he proposed new solutions in interior design while at Peugeot, joined Ford to lead strategic and interior design globally, and the transition to becoming “king of the country” with respect to his current role leading Ford’s Design teams in Europe.
This is the longest FORMCAST podcast to date and essential listening for anyone that wants to know what it takes to succeed as a car designer and attain a leadership position within design. I had a great time speaking with Amko and appreciate his insights.
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SHOW NOTES
00:00 – Intro
02:00 – Background
09:00 – Architecture
11:00 – Chasing the Dream
20:00 – First Job at PSA
22:00 – Moving up at Peugeot
27:00 – Interior Design Management
31:00 – Being a Chameleon
34:00 – Peugeot i-Cockpit
40:00 – Opportunity at Ford
50:00 – Cultural Impact
55:00 – Design Processes
01:03:00 – The Ford GT
01:09:00 – Design Freedom
01:16:00 – The Designer’s Role
01:20:00 – The Global Stage
01:24:00 – Designing for Markets
01:30:00 – Design Methodology
01:35:00 – Experience Design and Collaboration
01:24:00 – Digital Toolsets
01:43:00 – King of the Country
01:49:00 – Exterior vs Interior Design
01:54:00 – Future Challenges
01:59:00 – Responsibility of the Designer
02:05:00 – Artificial Intelligence
02:12:00 – Technology in Cars
02:17:00 – Personal Life and Cars
02:24:00 – Advice to Designers
We hope you enjoy listening to this genuine and informative conversation with Amko Leenarts. As always, you can find the FORMCAST podcast on all the major streaming services below and many more. And if you’d like to help support the podcast please either subscribe to Form Trends (there are many perks to doing so) or donate to our Patreon account using the link below. Thank you for your support!
