Karim Habib Explained
Karim Habib |
Birth Date: | 17 March 1970 |
Birth Place: | Beirut, Lebanon |
Citizenship: | Canadian |
Alma Mater: | McGill University |
Occupation: | Automotive Designer |
Years Active: | 1998 - present |
Known For: | Automotive Design |
Karim Antoine Habib (born 1970[1]) is a Canadian automotive designer. He is currently the executive vice president and head of Kia global design[2] for the Korean vehicle manufacturer Kia. He previously worked for BMW and Infiniti.[3] [4] [5] He is fluent in Arabic, English, French, German, and Italian.
Career
Born in Lebanon, Habib had to leave the country due to the ensueing civil war and moved to Canada in his teenage years,[6] and was educated at McGill University, as well as Transportation Design at the Art Center College of Design.
In 1998, he was hired by BMW. He got his first break at BMW designing the interior of the E60 5 Series.[7] Later he designed the exterior of the BMW 7 Series F01.[3] [4] [5] He left to work for Mercedes-Benz in 2009 for a few years and came back to BMW in 2011 as exterior designer until January 2017.[3] [4] [5]
He started employment with Infiniti in July 2017[8] and left the company in August 2019, being replaced by Taisuke Nakamura.[9] [10]
In September 2019, Habib joined Kia as Senior Vice President and Head of Kia Design Center.[11]
Notable works
Notes and References
- Web site: Karim Habib of BMW. 2015-05-17.
- Web site: Hyundai Motor Group Announces 2022 Second-half Executive Appointments . 2022-12-22 . HYUNDAI MOTORS . en.
- Web site: Interview: Karim-Antoine Habib. 2015-05-17. Miranda. Lightstone. https://web.archive.org/web/20171030003607/https://au.askmen.com/celebs/interview_300/308_interview-karim-antoine-habib.html. 2017-10-30. dead.
- Web site: Who's Where: Karim Habib appointed Head of BMW Design - Car Design News. www.cardesignnews.com. 2015-05-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20170118051901/http://cardesignnews.com/site/designers/whos_where/display/store4/item258481. 2017-01-18. dead.
- Web site: BMW designer, Karim Habib (*1970) Facebook. www.facebook.com. 2015-05-17.
- Web site: MyGrandStory.org . 2021-10-18 . Karim Habib . 2022-12-22 . MyGrandStory . de-DE.
- Web site: BMW Automobiles Design Boss Karim Habib Resigns. Again . Form Trends . 29 June 2018 . 17 January 2017.
- News: Karim Habib devient responsable du design chez Infiniti - le blog auto. 2017-03-14. le blog auto. 2017-04-29. fr-FR.
- Web site: Taisuke Nakamura named head of INFINITI Design. Nissan Online Newsroom. 26 August 2019. 2019-08-27.
- Web site: Montreal's Karim Habib is Leaving Infiniti After Two Years. 2021-02-22. The Car Guide. en.
- Web site: Former BMW Design Boss Karim Habib Will Now Head Kia Design.