The Team

Dirk van Braekel
Director of Design and Concepts
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Inspired by motor sport, I developed a love for cars and design. I studied electrical engineering and TV electronics, but cars were my passion. Through model building I met the design studio of Ford in Germany and worked there as a clay modeler from 1980. In my spare time I developed my drawing skills and presented my work to the chief designer who sponsored me to study Automotive Design at the Royal College of Art in London.
After graduation, I joined Audi Design where I designed the Audi 80 Avant, Cabriolet, aluminium A8 concept and the first A3, plus design involvement in Audi Sport racing cars like the 80 IMSA and Pikes Peak Quattro. In 1992 I was asked to design a concept car for the newest brand in the Volkswagen group, Skoda. I designed the Octavia and moved to Prague where I set up a design team and created the Octavia Combi, the Fabia range and the Superb. Whilst working on the Octavia mark 2 in 1999, I was approached to see if I would be interested in joining Bentley.
I officially joined Bentley in August 1999 and started straight away with the new Continental design work with a very small team. By December the exterior of the first Continental GT was confirmed. Then followed the Flying Spur, GTC, Continental T 440, Arnage facelift and derivatives plus the Queen’s car. Finally, the new Azure, Brooklands,  GT Speed and Supersports.
The new Continental GT is the newest design I have created with my team of now circa 100 people, with responsibility for concept and package, design exterior and interior and A class surface CAD.
Designing Bentley Motor Cars is a privilege.
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Gareth Thomas
Senior Exterior Designer
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I joined Bentley in 2001 for a six-month placement as part of my Transport Design degree at Coventry University.  Whilst in my final year, I was extremely grateful to be granted sponsorship by the company to study for my Masters Degree in Vehicle Design at The Royal College of Art in London. 
Two years later I returned to Crewe to join the Exterior Design team where I have worked for the past six years on numerous projects but in particular on the Supersports and Mulsanne. 
I also specialise in the design of many of the details such as headlamps, tail lamps and wheels, and more recently have been promoted to manage these projects along with many of the more unique cars we produce.

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David Seesing
Intern - Exterior Designer
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With my grandfather working in a VW garage in the 50's and 60's and my father specialising in automotive plastics supplying all major OEM’s, I am the third generation of the family employed in the automotive industry. Growing up with, and around cars, it became my dream to make a living designing cars.
To achieve my goal I studied automotive design at Coventry University and even though I was planning to go into the automotive industry, I took an opportunity as a product designer at Kiska Design in Austria after my graduation in 2007.
But still chasing my dream, I left Kiska to do a Masters in Vehicle Design at the Royal College of Art where I first came in touch with the company. I was the winner of a Bentley sponsored competition in my second year and got further sponsorship by Bentley for my master thesis and an invitation to join the exterior design team after my graduation in summer 2010.
Finally having achieved my dream to become a car designer I am now working on Bentley’s future products collecting valuable experience and learning from the highly skilled designers surrounding me.
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Lisa Reeves
Interior Designer
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My interest in motor cars stems from an early age as my father has always been a car enthusiast and enjoys his hobby of restoring vintage cars. As a family we attended many motoring events and my father and I entered motor sports competitions where I would navigate.
Art and Design were my favourite subjects through school.   At 15 years old I chose to spend my work experience week at Land Rover in Solihull. Visiting the design studio confirmed my aspirations to become a car designer.
In 2003 I graduated from Coventry University having studied a Masters degree in Transport Design. I designed a Bentley powerboat for my final year project which was entered into the International Concept Boat Competition and won a third place award. Having created Alias data and presenting the project to Bentley, they kindly supported the milling of the final model.
In 2004 I joined Jaguar Land Rover on the graduate scheme as an Alias modeller. I spent three and a half years at Jaguar Land Rover modelling interiors and exteriors for projects including the new XK, CXF show car and new XJ.
I joined the interior team at Bentley as a designer in 2007. I enjoy the creativity of designing and developing ideas through to digital and clay models. Since working at Bentley I have contributed to the development of Mulsanne , new Continental GT. and have been creating proposals for future generation projects.
 
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Ben Quaintance
Design and Visualisation
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Raised within a family of architects and car enthusiasts I have always had a passion for automotive design, knowing by the age of 14 that I wanted this to be the focus of my career.
In 2005 I enrolled on the Coventry University Automotive Design course, graduating in 2009 having spent 4 years refining my hobby. Along the way I was able to coach a class of pre-university designers into the finals of the Audi Innovators Awards, received nominations for both the L’argus European Design Award as well as the Interior Motives Awards, and in 2008 I earned an internship within Bentley Interior Design.
Upon my graduation I was offered a position within Colour & Trim, moving 12 months later into my current position within Design & Visualisation. Experiencing this wide range of departments within Bentley Design has provided a great foundation from which to start my career, as well as the opportunity to work on countless projects across the full Bentley range.
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Jonathan Punter
Interior Designer
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Son of a design teacher and car enthusiast, my interest in design and more specifically automotive design is easily traced. Having built up my passion and artistic ability throughout school, I applied to study Transport Design at Coventry in 2000.
Throughout the 4 year Mdes course my skills developed but my understanding of the profession was truly realised on an industrial placement at Bentley in 2003. With Bentley’s support I then advanced to study at the Royal College of Art graduating from the MA course in 2006. In my final year I was fortunate enough to win an Interior Motives Award, Pilkington Glass Prize for best concept and the Coachbuilder’s Bursary.
Since commencing at Bentley in September 2006 I have contributed to the design of the next generation Continental GT interior, and developed the infotainment interface on Mulsanne. Being an interior designer at Bentley gives you an exceptional appreciation of detail and technical execution. This understanding is something I aspire to use in all my work including development of a unique range of pens in collaboration with Tibaldi.
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Raul Pires
Head of Exterior Design
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An early passion for arts and motorsport led me to become a car designer. Whilst doing my BA in Industrial Design I did an internship at Volkswagen Design in Brazil. In 1993 I moved to Skoda in the Czech Republic as part of my training programme, originally for a six month period which turned into a job as a full time designer for the following six years.
In 1999 I joined Bentley as a Senior Designer, my first work in Crewe was the exterior design of the Continental GT. Subsequently I designed the Continental Flying Spur and the Continental GTC.
In 2001 I was promoted to Head of Exterior Design where I am responsible for the Exterior Design of the complete Bentley Range and lead a group of talented designers. Together we have designed the Azure, Brooklands, Mulsanne and most recently the New Continental GT.

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Robin Page
Head of Interior Design
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When I was 12 years old my godfather, who was a lecturer at Coventry University, took me into college to see if Transport Design would be an interesting career to follow.  I was so inspired by the students’ creativity and passion as they sketched futuristic transport designs, I knew there and then I wanted to be a designer. I started my career as a Technical Apprentice at Jaguar Cars Ltd and studied Engineering and Fine Art for 4 years. I then studied for a further 3 years to achieve a BA (Hons.) degree in Transport design at Coventry University before moving to Rolls-Royce and Bentley in 1995.
For the first four years at Rolls-Royce & Bentley I worked on many personal commissions for individual customers. In 1999 my interior design for the Bentley Continental GT was chosen. In 2001 I was promoted to Head of Interior Design and penned the Continental GTC and the State Limousine interior. From 2001 to the present day I have managed a team of 10 designers creating all of the Bentley interiors including the Flying Spur, Brooklands, Supersports, Mulsanne and the new Continental GT. 

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Dominic Najafi
Exterior Designer
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As a youngster, a fascination with cars and drawing naturally led me to the path of aspiring to become a car designer.
After graduating from Coventry University in 2003, I joined Bentley and have worked on many projects, including the new Continental GT.
I would love to elaborate on other projects but unfortunately these will stay under wraps until later into the next decade. Nevertheless, I’m sure you’ll like them…
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Crispin Marshfield
Senior Exterior Designer – Mulsanne Range
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Following a childhood obsession with anything on wheels, I attended the Coventry University Transportation design course. For my final year degree project I produced a design for a 21st century Bentley. It would still be some years however before I would have the chance to design Bentleys for real.
On graduating I began my career in the automotive industry for Volkswagen in Germany in 1991. Following VW’s acquisition of Bentley Motors, I was given the opportunity to join the company in 1999.
Since then I have been involved in the development of most of the Bentley range with particular emphasis on the larger platform cars. I have had direct responsibility for the Queens State Limousine, the Azure, the Brooklands and most recently I was the senior exterior designer for the Mulsanne.
That early childhood obsession has not wavered and today I still get a buzz from being involved in the development of  some of the greatest cars in the world.
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Rajesh Kutty
Interior Designer
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I was just as fond of drawing as I was of the art and science of the automobile.
 
It was after graduating in mechanical engineering and whilst working as a vehicle testing engineer, that I seriously considered vehicle design as a career option. But the variety of cars was limited in India, let alone having a car design course.
So a product design diploma at the National Institute of Design, India, led to my first design, a farm tractor. I pursued a Masters degree in Automotive Design at Coventry University, England, followed by a 3D modelling course at IED, Turin. While there, I worked part time in car design studios honing my design skills.
 
Returning to England, my work involved trains, planes, yachts and cars, before becoming part of the Interior Design team for the Mulsanne, Continental GT and future models to come.
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Bora Kim
Intern - Exterior Designer
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 I never dreamed I would become a car designer. My early ambition was to
study law but my mother suggested I study art as I had a natural flair for it. I applied and was accepted into Hongik University to study Industrial Design. During my time at University, I focused on product and graphic design projects. As part of the course I had to design a car for Kia which led me to apply for a Hyundai internship. As I began to recognise car design was all about human culture, history and philosophy I decided to study the subject further and applied to the Royal College of Art. It was a great opportunity for me to explore how pure art, fashion and culture influence vehicle design.
While I studied at the RCA I had the opportunity to work with Bentley Motors on a project envisioning their future and upon completing my MA, was offered the placement at Bentley. Beethoven said in the movie ’Copying Beethoven’, “Music is the language of god.”  I think design is shape of god. 
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Richard Killgren
Senior Exterior Designer - Continental Range
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I have been drawing cars since my childhood; almost every school exercise book was full of car doodles.  After school I went to college to study car design at Coventry University, where I got my BA (Hons) degree, and went on to the Royal College of Art in London where I received my Masters degree. 
Since college I spent a number of years in the Far East and after returning to England I went to work at Group Lotus where I worked on many design projects in the Design Studio.
In February 2008 I started working at Bentley Motors where I have been Senior Exterior Designer on the new Bentley Continental range.
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John Paul Gregory
Exterior Designer
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After graduating from Northumbria University with a degree in Transportation Design in 2002, I moved to Germany to undertake a Masters in Auto Design at the University of Applied Science in Pforzheim. During the course I was offered a placement in Volkswagen design, after which I was given full VW sponsorship for my final degree project.
I stayed in Germany to begin my career, starting work at Volkswagen Advanced Design Centre in Potsdam, where I was lucky enough to create design proposals for the whole Volkswagen group; everything from Audi to Bugatti.
In 2008, I was offered an opportunity to join Bentley. Since then, I have been busy working on the designs for the next generation of Bentley cars.
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Richard Gilmartin
Design and Visualisation
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Having graduated from Loughborough University with a degree in Industrial Design, I was fortunate to gain work as a Studio Engineer at Land Rover.  Working in the studio inspired me to leave and go back to Coventry University to study for my MA in Automotive Design. On graduation in 1999 I came to work for Bentley.
My time at Bentley has been a journey which has seen me work on the State Limousine, GTC, Arnage and Mulsanne.  I have had a valuable set of design experiences and opportunities to work with natural materials and truly understand how things are made. 
My current role is in creating digital imagery. During the past 15 years the design process has changed with technology and therefore there is an increased requirement for creating high quality digital imagery for design use.
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Dave Gibson
Graduate - Design and Visualisation
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Before starting University, I was intending to go into car design, but just before submitting my application I changed my mind. I ended up graduating from the University of Hertfordshire in 2010 with a BA First Class (Honours) in Games Art. It has been quite a coincidence that even after doing a totally different type of course that I have made it into the car industry.
Shortly after completing my degree, I was offered a short term placement working on one of the many concept projects at Bentley. Once my placement finished, I was then taken on as a full time graduate. I've always loved cars, so I've had a fantastic time working in an area that I have a real passion for. Being employed by a company that uses the best quality materials and being part of such a highly skilled team has been a wonderful experience.
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Viti Enns
Exterior Designer
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Since I can remember, I was drawing everything I saw. Flowers for girls and tanks for boys turned out to be very popular as a give away in primary school. Born in Siberia (Russia) there was no such thing as a car designer, so my dream started really at about 17 when my family emigrated to Germany.
Following the dream, I successfully applied to Pforzheim University for the Transportation Design course. During and after my graduation I was lucky enough to get experience in Design Studios such as Mercedes Benz, Renault and Volkswagen.
I started at Bentley in 2006 and worked on many exciting projects. Most recently I worked as an exterior designer on the Mulsanne and the new Continental GT and I am looking forward to the future projects to come.
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Phillip Dean
Graduate – Design and Visualisation
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From a very young age I always had a passion for cars and motorsport and whilst at school I always managed to have some reference to cars in all my art and design projects. When I found out that I could go to university and study a degree in one of my favourite areas I made sure that I put 110% into getting on the course.
I graduated from Coventry University in 2008 with a First Class BA (Honours) in Transport and Product Design. The day after finishing my degree, I started as a contract modeller for Jaguar Land Rover.
A year later I left Jaguar Land Rover to join the Design and Visualisation Team at Bentley. Here I work as part of a small team creating photo realistic imagery of the model ranges for a wide range of purposes from design reviews right up to marketing press releases.
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Darren J Day
Senior Interior Designer - Continental Range
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From an early age I loved drawing, model making and anything to do with cars. By the age of 13 I knew I wanted a career as a car designer, where I could combine these passions with a creative job that I would enjoy.
After seeking advice, I tailored my secondary education towards obtaining a degree in Transportation Design at Coventry University. After graduating in 1992 I was sponsored to take an MA in Automotive Design before working as a car designer at an automotive design consultancy.
I have worked at Bentley since 1994, developing both the exterior and interior of the Continental T and SC, and the interior of the State Limousine before specialising in exterior design working on a multitude of projects including the 2004 Arnage.
I moved to interior design in 2007 to manage a team of designers developing the New Continental GT and future Continental interiors. Working at Bentley is a car designer’s dream job; it’s creative, challenging and very rewarding.
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Frederic Dams
Interior Designer
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Born and raised in Belgium, with a car enthusiast father and a passion for sketching, art & design, I knew from a very young age, that I’d want to be a car designer. 
As Belgium lacks any form of car design course, I went on to study sciences and mathematics in high school in order to get into a 4-year MA in Product Design Engineering.  After finishing this, I moved to England and in September 2004, graduated from an MA in Automotive Design at Coventry University. 
I started work as a product designer, while at the same time searching for that hard-fought car design job.  In March 2006 I joined the Bentley design studio and became a member of the team responsible for the Mulsanne interior.  In 2007 I ended up as lead interior designer for the newly launched Continental GT. 
Still as mad a car nut as ever, cars have now become very much part of what I am, as well as what I do.
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Dr. Daniele Ceccomori
Interior Designer
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For as long as I can remember it was my parents and their sense of adventure, who went twice across the Sahara with their Volkswagen ‘Thing’, that eventually made me passionate about cars.
As a kid and a teenager my passion for mechanics and drawing inevitably led me to study engineering at the Politecnico di Milano, the city where I am originally from. I specialised in vehicle dynamics, completing an experimental thesis in aerodynamics.
After many years of left brain activity, I felt my creative side had to be explored too; therefore I attended Art Centre College of Design, in Switzerland and then in Los Angeles-California, where my interests in design broadened widely.
Keen to pursue new challenges in different design fields; in my 12 years of experience I have developed a multitude of design products. This has been for companies such as Honda, BMW, Ford, Ducati, Benelli, Portland Marine, British Aerospace, Nissan and currently Bentley where I take care of Branded Goods and Special Editions projects.
Design is a unique language that comes in different forms and this is why it allows me to fulfil my sense of adventure.

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Brett Boydell
Senior Designer – Branded Goods
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I was about five years old when I decided that I wanted to be a car designer. For me combining my obsession with cars and drawing was the career I wanted to follow.
As I progressed through school and Art College I explored all areas of art and design. However it was car design that I always came back to, so I studied at Coventry and graduated in 2001.
During the third year I applied for a summer placement at Bentley which was to last for six months. During this time I designed a Mulliner interior for the first Bentley RL which went to the Paris Motor show. As a result I was offered a position at Bentley in which I could continue designing projects for Mulliner and complete my final year.
That was ten years ago. During my time at Bentley I have designed the interior of the Arnage Facelift, Azure and Brooklands with my colleagues. I more recently designed the interior of the Continental Supersports Coupe and Convertible. I have also continued to work with Mulliner and Branded goods, developing products that compliment our cars with aligned brands that embrace Bentley design.
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George Bowen
Senior Interior Designer – Mulsanne Range
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I have been interested in cars from as early as I can remember. I used to fill my school exercise books with sketches of existing or imaginary cars, and spend hours designing and building cars from Lego. At the age of 13, I read about Coventry University’s Transport Design course in a car magazine. Previously unaware I could earn a living designing cars, I made it my aim to try to get a place on the course.
I graduated from Coventry in 1994 and worked for 4 years as a contract designer for various British automotive companies including Lotus. I moved to Renault in Paris in 1998 where I designed the 2001 Clio interior.
I’ve worked at Bentley for the last 9 years. Most recently I was senior designer for the Mulsanne interior. I also designed the Brooklands, Azure, Arnage Deep D Limousine & 2005 Arnage facelift interiors alongside my colleagues.
For an interior designer, working at Bentley is a real privilege as you are working with the best materials and the most skilled craftsmen and women. With most of our departments based on one site, you also get to talk to a wide variety of people, from concept engineers and clay modellers, right through to a craftsman trimming by hand a part you’ve designed.
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Jakob Annermalm
Exterior Designer
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Born in Stockholm Sweden
My passion for cars became clear at a very early age. Like most kids I enjoyed drawing, so the choice for my future occupation was obvious. Luckily I was able to realise my dream.
As Italy is seen as the traditional home of car design, I knew that I wanted to study there to learn the skills of the trade. I set off to Turin, the home of the Italian car industry, to do my BA Degree in Car Design.
After my years in Italy I decided to return back home to Sweden to do my MA in Transportation Design.
Since Sweden varied greatly from Italy, I had the feeling it would create a good, balanced foundation for my future design career.
I have been at Bentley since my graduation five years ago and have been involved in most of the Bentley cars produced in that time.
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