Lincoln Design Head David Woodhouse Suddenly Leaves The Company

David Woodhouse has been Lincoln’s design boss since 2013.

Woodhouse was also Ford’s director of global strategic design.

After a two-decade tenure with Ford Motor Company, global strategic design director David Woodhouse suddenly resigned his position. His departure raises some questions, particularly as he spearheaded Lincoln’s new design philosophy.

Woodhouse left a Facebook post last week, saying it was a “difficult decision.” According to Automotive News, he gave a short statement in that post on his departure. “Ending a long-standing relationship with a corporation is just like ending a personal relationship multiplied by the number of wonderful friends and colleagues.”

David Woodhouse departs Lincoln

Tenure with Ford Motor Company

The 50-year-old design boss had been with Ford Motor Company since 1999. He started off his time with the company by joining Premier Automotive Group, which at the time included luxury brands like Lincoln, Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo and Aston Martin. After rising through the ranks, he became Lincoln’s design director in 2013.

Woodhouse became Ford’s director of global strategic design in July 2017, shortly after CEO Jim Hackett took the reins at the company. He had a hand in design projects like the 2015 Lincoln Continental Concept and the Aviator Concept. Prior to Ford, he began his career as a designer at BMW in 1994, according to his LinkedIn profile.

According to Automotive News, who saw the Facebook post, Lincoln did confirm Woodhouse’s departure. However, they did not give any more information at this time. At time of writing, Lincoln also has not announced his replacement.

Naturally, we are curious about what effect this will have for Lincoln’s future cars. For instance, the company is reportedly working up a replacement for the MKZ sedan. That model is believed to be a revival of the “Zephyr” name, though Lincoln has not officially revealed it yet. The design for that car may be close to final, but we will have to wait and see what the next round of Lincoln cars looks like after Woodhouse’s tenure.

H/T to Automotive News for the information.