Jon Ikeda (born July 31, 1965) is an American automobile designer and executive. He currently serves as vice president and brand officer of

Acura Acura is the luxury vehicle, luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched in the United States and Canada on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. It ...

, the luxury and performance division of

Honda Motor Company is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

Early life and education

Ikeda, a

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

, grew up in

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

and

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. In 1989, he graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, with a Bachelor of Science in industrial design.

Career

In fall 1989, Ikeda was hired by Honda, working at the automaker's advanced design studio in Tokyo. While in Japan, he contributed to the design of the award-winning 1991 Honda FS-X concept, as well as the first generation

Acura RL The Acura RL is a mid-size luxury car that was manufactured by the Acura division of Honda for the 1996–2012 model years over two generations. The RL was the flagship of the marque, having succeeded the Acura Legend, and was replaced in 2013 b ...

. in 1995, he was relocated to Honda R&D Americas. Upon returning to the United States, he was named design project leader of the 2001

Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Acc ...

coupe, and was lead designer of the 2004

Acura TL The Acura TL is an executive car that was manufactured by Acura, the luxury division of Honda. It was introduced in 1995 to replace the Acura Vigor and was badged for the Japanese-market from 1996 to 2000 as the Honda Inspire and from 1996 to 200 ...

, the best-selling Acura model of all time. In his role as chief designer and division director, Ikeda was instrumental in the construction of the Acura Design Studio in 2007. In July 2015, Ikeda was promoted to vice president and general manager of Acura. In his new role, he was credited with reinvigorating the Acura brand with a renewed focus on design. On April 1, 2019, he was named brand officer of Acura.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikeda, Jon 1965 births Living people Acura American automobile designers American people of Japanese descent American businesspeople Art Center College of Design alumni Corporate executives in the automobile industry Honda people People from Glendale, California People from Pasadena, California