Another Aussie rises to top global automotive design job

There are now two Australians leading the design studios for two of the biggest car giants globally – General Motors and Ford – after a job promotion was announced in Detroit overnight.

It means two Australians are now responsible for shaping the look of millions of new cars that will be sold globally in the years ahead.

Todd Willing from Tasmania (pictured above), who started at Ford Australia as a work experience kid in the early 2000s and went on to be part of the team that designed the Ford Territory family SUV and, a decade later, the Ford GT supercar (pictured below), is now the head of design for Ford globally.

It is the highest position held by an Australian inside Ford since former Ford Australia engineer Trevor Worthington stepped down from his global engineering role last year, and Lebanese-born Australian Jacques Nasser rose from running Ford Australia to Ford globally in the 1990s.

Willing joins fellow Australian Mike Simcoe in Detroit (pictured below), who is the global head of design for arch rival General Motors.

It’s a new kind of Holden-versus-Ford battle – but on a global scale and, of course, with different badges.

Willing (pictured below) will be responsible for the design of future Ford and Lincoln vehicles globally and Simcoe is responsible for the design of future Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC and Hummer brands.

Simcoe is famous for designing the Commodore Coupe concept car that was intended to take attention away from the unveiling of the Ford Falcon AU at the 1998 Sydney Motor Show.

Holden fans loved the concept car (pictured below) so much they demanded it be built and called the Monaro.

Simcoe went on to run General Motors design studios in the Asia-Pacific region and the US before being promoted to the global head of GM design in 2016.

Willing has a long list of cars to his name, but because Ford usually doesn’t shine a spotlight on its designers (Ford historically prefers the brand to get the credit – not individuals – because automotive design teams are made up of hundreds of people) we don’t exactly know which ones.

However we do know he was part of the team that developed the Australian-made Ford Territory (concept pictured above and production model pictured below) and, later, the Ford Ranger, Ford F-150 among other models.

In a statement issued by Ford headquarters in the US overnight the company said:

Todd Willing is the head of Ford Design, effective Aug. 27, 2024. He leads design for Ford and Lincoln brand vehicles worldwide. He previously was global design director for Ford Model E. Willing began with the company in 2003.

His automotive journey began in high school as part of a work experience program offered by Ford’s Australian Design Studio.

During his time at Ford, Willing has played a pivotal role in shaping iconic Ford vehicles, working on products destined for markets around the world.

He has had assignments in Japan, Germany, England and the US, and he led the Ford Asia-Pacific design studio in Melbourne, Australia. 

He was part of the design teams behind vehicles including the 2007 Ford Mondeo, 2009 Ford Fiesta, 2010 Ford Focus and was exterior chief designer on the 2017 Ford GT.

While serving as global design director for Ford Trucks and SUVs, Willing led teams responsible for the F-150, Super Duty, Ranger, Bronco, Maverick, Explorer and Expedition vehicle lines.

Willing earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial design from Monash University in Australia. He is based in southeastern Michigan, where he lives with his wife and three children.

When EFTM’s Joshua Dowling interviewed Todd Willing at the 2015 Detroit Motor Show – where the covers came off the Ford GT supercar – he said: “It’s every designer’s dream to work on a car like this. This is a once-in-a-career opportunity.”

Meantime, Mike Simcoe’s road to the top of General Motors design from his humble days at Holden (where his first project was the massive rear bootlid spoiler on the first Walkinshaw VL Commodore) was a longer journey.

Simcoe started his career as a designer with Holden in 1983 before and then had subsequent appointments as Senior Designer (1985) and Chief Designer (1987) before becoming Design Director of Holden in 2001.

In 2003, Simcoe became GM’s Executive Director Asia Pacific Design, a regional design role that incorporated responsibility for Holden design.

In that role he oversaw the genesis of the highly successful Holden VT Commodore and WH Statesman/Caprice model ranges, creating the “flexible architecture” concept that delivered nine variants and subsequently the VE Commodore after it was introduced in 2006.

In that period Simcoe was also responsible for the management of collaborative projects with General Motors alliance partners such as Daewoo, Suzuki, Fuji Heavy Industries and Isuzu.

Simcoe then served in Executive Design Director roles at General Motors North America from 2007 until 2011.

He returned to General Motors Holden in 2012 and in 2014 was appointed Vice President of International Design.

Simcoe relocated back to General Motors North America in 2016 and is currently GM Head of Global Design, arguably the biggest automotive design job in the world.

He occupies an office designed for Harley Earl in 1955 in the Warren Technical Center, now declared a National Historic Landmark building in the US.

As well as leaving his mark on a long line of Holden cars, Simcoe led design development for many General Motors vehicles including: GMC Terrain, Buick LaCrosse, Chevy Camaro and Equinox as well as Cadillac CTS Sedan, Wagon and Coupe and many others.