photo by steed media service

Ed Welburn, vice president of global design for General Motors, knew exactly what he wanted to do as far back as age 11. As a youngster he wanted to design cars, so he wrote to General Motors to find out how to make his dream a reality. Years later, Welburn now oversees the design and development of some of the most innovative and iconic automobiles on the road. Welburn also directed the global consolidation of GM’s design team. “There was never a consolidated global design organization [before],” explains Welburn, before adding with a chuckle, “Working with these designers all over the planet means that I’m on my BlackBerry until 11 p.m. and back on at four in the morning!”
The Howard University graduate isn’t complaining, however — his vision has led to GM trying new and exciting designs and pairing those designs with exciting recording artists and fashion designers. “This year, we’re [handling] it in a very different way, with more music and fashion designers,” he says. “We have a wide variety of cars, so you need to have a wide variety of artists and styles.” GM chooses artists and matches them with cars that fit their persona. “A car is an extension of a person’s personality — just like what you wear,” adds Welburn.

“Every project is a little different, I work very [broadly] in the beginning — [starting] with a wide bandwidth of ideas and [then streamline],” Welburn says of the process that takes ideas from the sketch board to the showroom. “I get the most pleasure out of this whole global team,” he shares. “I love designs, I love creativity, and as good as the work is we’ve done, the best is yet to come.” -todd williams

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