Designworks/USA CEO, Charles W. Pelly Names Henrik Fisker his Successor

6 January 2000
Designworks/USA CEO, Charles W. Pelly Names Henrik Fisker his Successor
    NEWBURY PARK, Calif., Jan. 6 -- Charles W. Pelly, a 40-year
veteran of the design industry, has named Henrik Fisker President and CEO of
Designworks/USA overseeing all design and marketing activities for
Designworks/USA globally.  Pelly will continue to consult on certain projects,
both BMW Group work as well as other clients such as Nokia, Whirlpool, MCI,
John Deere, Compaq and Haworth.

                        Planes, Trains and Automobiles

    Pelly took Designworks/USA from a start-up operation in his garage to one
of the top 10 design consultancies in the world.  Pelly developed the unique
structure of Designworks/USA with a balance of automotive, transit, product,
advanced communication, and graphics consulting to stimulate cross
fertilization and innovative thinking among his design team.  Designworks/USA
has one numerous awards for innovative design.  Headquartered in Newbury Park,
California with an office in Munich, Germany, Designworks/USA became a
wholly-owned subsidiary of the BMW Group in 1995.  Designworks/USA was
recently instrumental in the design of the BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle as
well as the award-winning new BMW 3 Series.  Pelly is also the designer of the
original Scarab sports car.
    In making the announcement, Pelly said, "Designworks/USA has been my life.
Our slogan has always been 'great people, great projects and great fun.'  This
basic belief has made the company flourish and become a mecca of good friends
and incredible projects.  I look forward to using the knowledge I've acquired
during my time with Designworks/USA and BMW to assist in the development of
design, creativity and innovation in industry and academia."
    Pelly, 62, graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena,
California and went on to teach industrial design at Art Center.  His students
included BMW AG Chief of Design Chris Bangle, Ford Vice President of Design
Jay Mays and Freeman Thomas, Vice President of Design Strategy at
Daimler/Chrysler.
    Fisker, 36, is a 10-year veteran of the BMW Group and has been director of
automotive design in the United States for two years.  Fisker, a graduate of
Art Center Europe in Vevey, Switzerland, is a native of Denmark and speaks
multiple languages fluently.
    "We really have the best of both worlds," stated BMW AG Design Chief Chris
Bangle.  "Chuck remains with us as 'elder statesman' for the next three years
teaching and guiding the team on key projects and Henrik, with his
international background and enormous design talent, will continue to develop
our multicultural design team and grow the business globally."
    Designworks/USA is an internationally recognized industrial design firm
with the unique capability of designing and modeling precision consumer
products, full-size cars, trains and airplanes.
    BMW entered the U.S. market in 1975.  Since then, the company has grown to
include marketing, sales and financial service organizations in the United
States; a South Carolina manufacturing operation; Designworks/USA, a design
firm in California; a technology office in Palo Alto and various other
operations throughout the country.  BMW is represented in the U.S. through a
network of more than 340 automobile and 160 motorcycle retailers.  BMW (US)
Holding Corp., the Group's headquarters for North, Central and South America,
is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.  Information about BMW products is
available to consumers via the World Wide Web on the BMW homepage.  The
address is: http://www.bmwusa.com.  The Designworks/USA address is
http://www.designworksusa.com.