FRANK STEPHENSON

BIOGRAPHY BORN : 3 OCTOBER 1959 NATIONALITY :NORWEIGAN STUDIED AT : ART CENTRE

COLLEGE OF DESIGN, CALIFORNIA

LANGUAGES KNOWN: ENGLISH, GERMAN, ITALIAN, SPANISH, ARABIC

OCCUPATION : AUTOMOBILE DESIGNER

KNOWN FOR : AWARD WINNING DESIGN OF MINI HATCH IN 2001

DESIGN CAREER Began at FORD,USA –

penned some features for Ford Escort RS

Later moved to BMW , spent 11 years , leading to senior designer , designed BMW X5

His redesign of the new Mini in 2001 led to the award-winning Mini Hatch.

In July 2002, Stephenson was appointed Director of Ferrari - Maserati Concept Design and Development. His work with Ferrari included the design of the Maserati MC12 and Ferrari F430.

He also oversaw Pininfarina's work on the Maserati Quattroporte and Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. Stephenson's success with Ferrari led to his appointment to head of the company's Fiat, Lancia, and Commercial Vehicle Styling Centre in Turin, Italy on February 22, 2005.

He was tasked with rebuilding the struggling Fiat brand. While there, he directed the styling of the Punto , Bravo , and new Nuova 500.

On June 2007 he was made chief of Alfa Romeo Centro Stile where he replaced Wolfgang Egger, while Donato Coco took over his previous position at Fiat.

He left Fiat in April 2008 and took up the position of Design Director at McLaren Automotive where he oversaw the design of the new MP4-12C, and new range of McLaren's and the P1.

Automotive insiders regularly refer to Stephenson as "one of most influential automotive designers of our time".