Ralph Victor Gilles
BornJanuary 14th, 1970
New York City, New York
CitizenshipUSA
Alma materMichigan State University M.B.A
OccupationAutomotive Designer
Years active1992-Current
EmployerStellantis N.V
PredecessorTrevor Creed

Ralph Victor Gilles (French pronunciation: [ʒij]; born 14 January 1970) is a Canadian-American automobile designer and executive, and current Chief Design Officer of Stellantis NV. His career started in 1992, where he joined Chrysler. During his time at Chrysler, he was responsible for designing the North American Car of the Year-winning 2005 Chrysler 300, as well as led the design team that created the 2013 SRT Dodge Viper. [1] [2] Gilles was the president and CEO of Chrysler's SRT brand and senior vice president of design at Chrysler before being promoted to head of design for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in April 2015. Following FCA's merger with PSA Group forming the Stellantis group in 2021, he was appointed the Chief Design Officer of the newly merged company.[3]

Background

Born in New York City to Haitian immigrants, Gilles was raised in Montreal, Quebec.[4] Gilles was drawing concept vehicles at the age of eight. When he was fourteen years old, his aunt Gisele Mouscardy sent one of his sketches to then Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca.[5] Gilles states that a reply came from K. Neil Walling, Chrysler's design chief at the time, suggesting he attend one of three design schools.[6]

Education

Gilles studied at Vanier College in Montreal.[7] He attended the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, and in 2002 received an Executive MBA from Michigan State University.[8]

Career

In 1992, Gilles joined the design office at Chrysler.[8] In August of 2008, he replaced the retiring Trevor Creed as Senior Vice President of Design.[8][9] In October 2009, Gilles was promoted to president and CEO of the Dodge car brand. He was replaced as Dodge's CEO in June 2011, remaining Senior Vice President of Design and becoming CEO of Chrysler's Street and Racing Technology division.[10] After four years as the CEO of the SRT and motorsports division, he was promoted to the head of design for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. In 2021, the merger of French-based PSA Group with Fiat Chrysler automotive led to the creation of Stellantis N.V., where Gilles became the chief design officer.[8]

Gilles was profiled in the first season of the Netflix docu-series Abstract: The Art of Design.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Executive bios: Ralph V. Gilles". chrysler.com. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "Designer Ralph Gilles on the 2013 SRT Viper". popularmechanics.com. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Profile: Ralph V Gilles, Chief Design Officer, Stellantis NV". Bloomberg.
  4. ↑ Watson, Thomas (2006-09-22). "The cult of Ralph: Chrysler's Ralph Gilles". Canadian Business. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  5. ↑ "The cult of Ralph: Chrysler's Ralph Gilles". Canadian Business, Sep 22, 2006 Thomas Watson.
  6. ↑ Gilles Ralph (2016-02-25). "I owe my career to a letter from Chrysler". blog.fcanorthamerica.com. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  7. ↑ Webster, Sarah. "From slacker to superstar: Gilles is new darling of automotive design world". Vanier College. Vanier College. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Gilles, Ralph V." (PDF). Chrysler Executive Bio. Chrysler. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  9. ↑ "Chrysler Head Designer Is Latest to Leave Firm". Wall Street Journal. 19 August 2008. p. B4. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  10. ↑ Healey, James R. (June 8, 2011). "Fiat shuffles Chrysler hats: Design chief/Dodge CEO Gilles to run SRT". USA Today. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Netflix launches new documentary series Abstract: The Art of Design with a stellar lineup".
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