Since mid-2008 Gorden Wagener is heading the worldwide operating design unit of Mercedes-Benz and all brands of the Daimler AG. With effect from November 2016 he has been appointed as Chief Design Officer at Executive Vice President level.
Born in Essen, Gorden Wagener is the Chief Design Officer Daimler Group – a position he has held since 2016. After studying Industrial Design at the University of Essen, he honed his skills in Transportation Design at London’s Royal College of Art. He joined Mercedes-Benz over two decades ago. In 2008 he was made Director of Daimler AG´s Design unit. All current models of the Daimler Group vehicle portfolio bear Wagener’s signature, from all Mercedes-Benz passenger and commercial vehicles to all truck and bus brands forming today’s Daimler Trucks AG. His ground-breaking work has earned him a number of accolades including an honorary professorship at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest (2009) and an honorary doctorate at Sofia Technical University (2010).
For him, design defines brands and a holistic approach is essential. Not only the products but also the brands of Daimler AG must be staged perfectly. Therefore, he and his international team are responsible for the design of all brands and products within Daimler AG, including all cars as well as a holistic corporate design of all brands. The focus is on the Mercedes-Benz brand.
Under his leadership, the new design philosophy of sensual purity, which defines a modern luxury, was created in 2009. It embodies both characteristics „hot“ and „cool“ and thereby expresses an essential aspect of the brand – the bipolarity of emotion and intelligence.
A variety of models bear Gorden Wagener’s signature, such as the new E-Class, C- and S-Class models, the SUVs GLE Coupé and GLC, the Mercedes-AMG GT as well as different showcars such as the Concept EQ, the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 and the F 015 Luxury in Motion. Furthermore he is responsible for the design of smart and the commercial vehicles of the company.
Gorden Wagener was born on September 3, 1968, in Essen. After studying Industrial Design at the University of Essen (1990–1993), he specialized his studies in Transportation Design at The Royal College of Art in London. Before he joined Mercedes-Benz in 1997, he worked as an exterior designer at different companies.
