Clay Dean is presently director, General Motors North American Advanced Design and Cadillac “Brand Champion.” For the former, he helps direct what cars and trucks will look like. For the latter, he is instrumental in being the point person to help advance the cause of Art & Science.

(Jeffrey Sauger for Cadillac)

I’ve had the opportunity to talk with Dean on occasion over the past several years on subjects ranging from the previous generation Chevy Malibu (the one that actually brought some considerable design chops to a car that had pretty much been a quintessential rental fleet darling) to the futuristic EN-V. He’s been strong on Cadillac, which is bringing to showrooms cars like the XTS and ATS to complement the still-fresh CTS.

2013 Cadillac XTS

As of August 1, Dean will have a new job. He’ll be the director of Global Advanced Design for GM. And as GM concentrates on being a more global company, Dean is precisely the kind of guy who ought to be in pivotal position, given not only his design sense and sensibilities, but also his familiarity with cars from the mainstream to the luxury stream, and even that digital stream of the future.

EN-V