What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement?
So far it has been the ability to deliver design on a day-to-day basis as an output from collaboration. I'm happy to see dissolving structures of ownership, where design is created by a group and not by an individual. Most recently, my greatest professional achievement in terms of a project is the successful renovation of the product design studio at BMW Group DesignworksUSA. It is very rewarding to see each day the impact of connecting an environment to work culture and staff.

What is the most fulfilling part of your job?
It's being able to mentor a wide variety of creative people in different disciplines. Even our administrative staff is empowered to think creatively. Working with younger, less-experienced designers and students is satisfying to a great extent—this specific interaction is always refreshing and also challenging in a positive way.

How would you define success?
Success to me is defined through the process and not so much the result. The most satisfying moment is a synergistic relationship with the design team, client, partners, and all involved. That is the start for success.

What are the biggest challenges facing designers today?
The biggest challenge is to not approach a project with the goal of creating "a thing," but rather to take context into consideration and think in a holistic way. Designers also need to re-learn "minimalist" design. The design premise "less is more" is more valid today than ever before.

What advice would you give to design students or those just starting out in the field?
I would tell designers just starting out to consider global design opportunities. Rather than taking a job in the same city where they studied, I would encourage them to investigate opportunities in other areas. If you are from a European school, give yourself global experience by looking at opportunities abroad. Also, I would always encourage design students to create a "what if" scenario and look far before compromising their creative process with constraints and limitations.

What do you find to be the most exhilarating interior space you have ever been in?
Of course, for me it's our new product design studio. Every time, I am in the space, I'm reminded of a well-planned cityscape. If I were to look at all of the spaces I've ever visited, then the most exhilarating interior space would probably be the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona.

What do you consider to be the worst invention of the last 100 years?
I would say the worst invention is everything that creates unnecessary noise.

What would you consider to be your most exciting recent discovery?
It is not really a recent discovery, but more a discovery process. It is discovering more and more about the place where I want to live and be able to combine personal life with professional life in harmony and balance. I'm not telling you where that is. Otherwise you will want to move there too…

How do you foresee the future of design changing?
I see the future of design as a discipline changing to play a much more of an important role generally. If designers can eliminate boundaries that typically are associated with a product development process and think about everything contextual—for example environment, communication, society, economics—then they will be the key to visualizing and telling new stories in the most convincing way.

What is the best thing you've learned in the past 10 years?
The best thing I've learned in the past 10 years is that your state of mind, happiness, and life situation vastly influences your creative potential. In my role, one of my tasks is to enable the design team and to take burdens away so that everyone can reach their greatest creative potential.

What inspired your career choices?
Looking at Italian furniture design inspired my career choice. Italian designers and architects manage very well to include emotion in their product design to a great extent.

If you could have selected another career, what might you have been?
If I had to select another career, it would probably have been as a musician or a chef. Both the musician and chef create something and can make people very happy with what they create.

What would you like to leave as your legacy?
It is too early to say what I would like to leave as my legacy. But I really love watching my son grow up, and I hope that I can provide guidance that is of meaning in his later life.