Simcoe bows out as GM’s top designer

GM’s head designer, Michael Simcoe, will retire later this year after 42 years of service.

Simcoe, 67, will be replaced by Cadillac’s top designer, Bryan Nesbitt, effective July 1  to ensure a seamless handover.

Nesbitt will continue reporting to GM President Mark Reuss, who said in a statement posted on the company’s website that Simcoe “elevated automotive design not just at GM, but the world over.”

“Michael is a visionary designer and leader,” Reuss said.

The company president also added that Simcoe’s positive relationship with the engineering and manufacturing teams helped make design one of GM’s “fundamental competitive advantages.”

“His focus on the customer, keen eye for detail and an emphasis on the future made Michael everything we could have asked for in a chief designer,” Reuss said.

Under Simcoe, GM’s design studios have executed numerous award-winning products, including the Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Hummer EV and Chevrolet’s Equinox EV.

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He was also instrumental in helping the company set about on its long-term goal of offering an all-electric line-up and paving the way for vehicles like the Cadillac Lyriq. It was recently hailed as the 2024 German Car of the Year in the luxury category.

While issues with the Lyriq’s battery modules initially hampered its success, the sales of the car skyrocketed by 210 per cent globally. A total of 28,402 units sold in 2024, once the issues had been resolved. 

Simcoe was also instrumental in the creation of GM’s flagship Design West studio campus. It is located on the Global Technical Centre campus in Warren, Michigan, and the aim is “to foster collaboration and accelerate GM’s transformation.” 

“It has been humbling to be a part of shaping the future of transportation and evolving automotive design while ensuring that the intersection of art and technology is core to GM Design and our business,” Simcoe said.

He also expressed confidence in his successor, saying that GM Design under Nesbitt’s tutelage “will continue to drive the company forward.”

Nesbitt said that he will continue building on Simcoe’s legacy of putting design at the forefront of GM’s ethos. 

“Design will continue to be at the leading edge of identifying and adopting new technologies to improve speed to market and help meet the needs of customers into the future,” Nesbitt said.

“Great design will always be the cornerstone of every vehicle we create,” he added.