Sielaff replaces Donckerwolke as Bentley design boss

Stefan Sielaff has been named as the new director of design at Bentley, with Luc Donkerwolke leaving the company.

Sielaff will join Bentley on 1 July, having spent the last three years in the VW Group design team. He held two roles, working as head of interior design and design director at the Volkswagen Design Center in Potsdam.

Prior to this, Sielaff has worked with several brands in the VW Group, having started more than 25 years ago at Audi. He spent time as the design director for Audi from 2006 to 2011.

Wolfgang Dürheimer, chairman and CEO at Bentley, said: “Bentley is entering one of the most important phases in the company’s history, with significant plans for new models. With his experience, creative vision and passion for the Bentley brand Stefan Sielaff is perfectly placed to lead the design of our future models.”  

The appointment comes after Donckerwolke leaves both Bentley and the VW Group as a whole. Donckerwolke, 49, had been at Bentley since September 2012, and had previously worked as head of design at Lamborghini and as director of design at Seat. He joined the VW Group in 1992 as an exterior designer at Audi and he worked on models such as the Lamborghini Murcielago and Gallardo, Skoda Fabia and Audi R8 Le Mans prototype during his time at the company.

Wolfgang Dürheimer said of Donckerwolke,: “I would like to thank Luc Donckerwolke for the significant contribution he has made in his nearly three years at Bentley, overseeing the continuation of a very successful period, and I wish him all the very best for the future.”

Bentley’s next anticipated model is the Bentayga, which will have been at an advanced stage of development by the time Donckerwolke left the company. 

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