Stellantis North America announced yesterday that Mark Allen, in charge of Jeep exterior design for the past 30 years, will retire at the end of this month. Today is the end of the month, so this is the final day in the Stellantis Product Design Office for the man who has overseen decades of Jeep exterior design.
We are confident that Stellantis has someone waiting in the wings to take over the role of lead exterior design boss, but Allen’s shoes will not be easy to fill. Aside from an obvious skill for designing sport utility vehicles, Mark Allen is a passionate enthusiast of the Jeep brand, to a degree, surpassing many of his counterparts. It only takes a few minutes of talk to him to learn that he isn’t the average automotive executive who is talking the part as a career, but a legitimate automotive enthusiast who loves what he does and what he has helped produce over the past three decades. His presence will be missed at media events going forward.
The Stellantis North America Blog published a piece about Mark Allen, his time with Jeep, and how he had his eyes on a career in design at a very early age. Rather than having me summarize their piece, click here to read it for yourself.
