President, BMW Group DesignworksUSA
www.designworksusa.com
Judging Category: Transportation
As President of BMW Group DesignworksUSA, a subsidiary of BMW Group with 125 employees, Laurenz Schaffer leads the global design consultancy’s strategy, design management, and operations including all three DesignworksUSA studios located in Munich, Singapore, and Los Angeles, the headquarters. Appointed in December 2009, Schaffer brings more than 18 years of experience across diverse functions and industries to his position.
Schaffer’s career at BMW Group began in 1998 at the DesignworksUSA studio in Munich where he was Senior Designer, Project Management. In 2000, he became Director of Design for DesignworksUSA Munich studio, and beginning in 2003, Schaffer led BMW Group’s Lifestyle Design activities. During this tenure at the Munich Studio, he oversaw highly acclaimed projects for a range of clients including BMW, MINI, Asics, Head, Saeco, Siemens Trains, Sony, and Zeydon.
Prior to joining BMW Group DesignworksUSA, Schaffer was Head of Industrial Design at the Frogdesign studio in Altensteig, Germany from 1996-1998. As a creative director he was responsible for client services and design projects for Siemens, Sony, and Lufthansa. Additionally from 1994, Schaffer was a design and product development manager, dividing his time between Frogdesign’s studios in Altenseig and San Francisco, California.
From 1993 Schaffer was at Design Group Flath & Frank in Munich as a freelance product designer, working on projects for clients including Madaus, Telekom, and Scheidt & Bachmann. Previously he was a freelance designer for Phoenix Product Design in Stuttgart, contributing projects for LOEWE, Panasonic, hans grohe, and Gaggenau.
While studying design, he developed independent projects under the label Orange 3, an independent group of engineers and designers, for Siemens, ClassiCon, DFG, and Deutsche Telekom. Schaffer earned a degree in Industrial Design at Munich’s University of Applied Sciences in 1993, and also attended Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich.
Schaffer and his family reside in Santa Monica, California.
