Lotus GroupJoined Lotus:December 2009
Place of Birth: Foggia, Italy
Studies: Automotive Design – Royal College of Art, London
Previous career highlights:
2005-2009 Ferrari Spa – Maranello, Italy – Director of Concept Design & Development
1983-2004 PSA – Paris, France – Chief Designer
Describe your job in a single sentence:
Directing design is like conducting an orchestra; there are lots of different musicians, playing different instruments, and my job is to keep all the different sounds harmonious, fresh and powerful to create the perfect philharmonic sound.
What was your first job?
Delivering fridges, televisions and washing machines when I was a student.
What’s your first, or best, memory of Lotus?
My first memory is of one of Giorgetto Giugiaro’s sketches for the original Esprit S1. I was fascinated, and copied it 100 times. My best memory is of Emerson Fittipaldi’s sunglasses – the ones with the drilled holes – and his beautiful John Player Special Lotus F1 car. My sister and I smoked JPS cigarettes, it looked so cool.
What’s your favourite colour in the Lotus colour chart?
Yellow
Describe Lotus in a word:
Determination.
