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.
Karim Habib
| |
|---|---|
| Born | (1970-03-17) March 17, 1970 (age 54) |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Alma mater | McGill University |
| Occupation | Automotive Designer |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Known for | Automotive Design |
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.[3]
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]