CALIFORNIA : PEOPLE IN BUSINESS : Noted Product Designer Named to Nissan North America Board
Noted product designer Gerald P. Hirshberg, founder and president of Nissan Design International in La Jolla, has been appointed to the board of directors of Nissan North America Inc.
The move by the Carson-based company is part of a continuing effort by Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. to revitalize its operations. Earlier this year, France’s Renault acquired controlling interest in the financially ailing company--Japan’s second-largest auto maker--and named executive Carlos Ghosn as Nissan’s chief operating officer. Ghosn is scheduled to unveil next month what he has described as a drastic plan to revamp Nissan’s worldwide operations.
Hirshberg, one of just a handful of designers ever elected to a car company’s board (Chrysler design chief Tom Gale is a director of parent DaimlerChrysler), was given authority last year to approve Nissan designs for the U.S. market. In the past, the company’s Japanese design staff had veto power over all product designs.
Ghosn said in an interview earlier this summer that he wanted to increase local control of product design and, at the same time, use Nissan’s U.S., European and Japanese design centers to help “internationalize” the company’s design philosophy.
Hirshberg’s elevation to the Nissan North America board underscores the importance Nissan Motor is placing on its U.S. operations, analysts said.
Hirshberg directed the design of the first Nissan Pathfinder sport-utility vehicle, the popular new Xterra SUV, the Altima and Maxima sedans, the Quest minivan and the Infiniti J30. In addition, Hirshberg’s team has also designed computer concepts for Apple Computer and Motorola, golf clubs for Taylor Made, medical instruments, ski boots, yachts and preschool day-care furniture for an international list of clients.
The design studio’s latest nonautomotive projects include participating in the redesign of the Los Angeles Times and the design of a mechanical exercise device for cheetahs at San Diego Wild Animal Park.
