is a former Japanese car designer and company executive. Nakamura served as Senior Vice President of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. From 2006, Nakamura had been Nissan's

Chief Creative Officer A chief creative officer (CCO) is the highest ranking position of the creative team within a company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, and branding associated with ...

. He was Chief Creative Officer of

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

Infiniti is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Nissan. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989, in North America. The marketing network for Infiniti-branded vehicles included dealers in over 50 countries in ...

and

Datsun Datsun (, ) was an automobile brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, but relaunche ...

. Nakamura retired in 2017. Known as a hands-on creative, he goes by the nickname "Fingers".

Biography

Early life

Nakamura was born in October 1950 in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Education and academic achievements

Nakamura holds a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advan ...

from the

Musashino Art University or is a private university in Kodaira, Western Tokyo, founded in 1962 with roots going back to 1929. It is known as one of the leading art universities in Japan. History In October 1929, was founded. In December 1948, it became , and in ...

in Tokyo, Japan, along with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

with distinction in Transportation Design from the

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred R. ...

in Pasadena, California.

Career

When

Carlos Ghosn Carlos Ghosn (; ; ar, كارلوس غصن; , born 9 March 1954) is a businessman who holds Brazilian and French nationality. Ghosn was the CEO of Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman of AvtoVAZ, chairman and CEO of Nis ...

took charge of

in 1999, he brought in Nakamura from Isuzu to lead the design part of Nissan's revival. According to the Forum for Corporate Communications in Tokyo, Nakamura "immediately exerted leadership in driving the design team to create distinctive and innovative designs based on Japanese traditional aesthetics and contemporary culture". Iconic cars, such as the

Nissan Cube The Nissan Cube is a mini MPV produced by carmaker Nissan between 1998 to 2019. Initially sold only in Japan, the Cube was sold in North American markets from 2009 to 2014, and in European markets from 2009 to 2011. In Japan, it was exclusive to ...

Fairlady Z The Nissan Z-series is a model series of sports cars manufactured by Nissan in seven generations since 1969. The original Z was sold in October of 1969 in Japan as the at Nissan Exhibition dealerships that previously sold the Nissan Bluebi ...

, GT-R,

Murano Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was on ...

, Qashqai, Juke and

LEAF A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

as well as Infiniti M, FX and

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

were created under Nakamura's guidance. At Isuzu, Nakamura held various senior level positions, and was responsible for the design of models such as

Isuzu VehiCROSS The Isuzu VehiCROSS (UGS250) is a compact SUV from Isuzu. Produced from 1997 through 2001 (Japanese market 1997–1999; US market 1999–2001), it shares many of its components with the Trooper, including both its 3.2 L and 3.5 L V6 ...

and

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...

. Nakamura started as a studio draftsman in 1974. In 1985, Nakamura joined

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

and worked at the Advanced Design Studio in Michigan.

Recognitions

Nakamura has received many awards for his work, among them the 2010

EyesOn Design EyesOn Design are a series of events including an annual car show and a fundraiser for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. It has become a national event focused on the emotion and character of automotive design. History The Eyes on Design S ...

Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2003, he was introduced into the Automotive News All Stars, Design. Nakamura was named by ''FastCompany Magazine'' the world's 4th most creative person of 2010, behind

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

Eddy Cue Eddy Cue (born Eduardo H. Cue; October 23, 1964) is Apple's senior vice president of Services, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Cue oversees Apple's numerous content stores including the iTunes Store, the Apple Books Store, and Apple Music, as well ...

, and

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

. He was the only car designer on that list. In 2014, Nakamura received the Art Center's Lifetime Achievement Alumni Award. In 2015, Nakamura was declared the winner of the "Grand Prix du Design" at the International Automobile Festival in Paris.

Other Interests

Nakamura plays the

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamura, Shiro 1950 births Living people