Richard Ferlazzo, the man responsible for 2006’s stunning Efijy concept (pictured above), has been promoted to head of design at General Motors’ Australian outpost Holden. He replaces Andrew Smith, who heads to North America to run the design team at Cadillac as part of a major shakeup taking place across the various design studios of General Motors Company [NYSE:GM].

Ferlazzo will work on projects for Holden as well as other GM brands. An Australian native, Ferlazzo has previously worked at studios in Detroit working on projects for Chevrolet and Cadillac.

One of his first major projects as Holden design chief will be a next-generation Commodore, assuming plans for such a car are still in place. He will be able to draw from more than two decades of experience at Holden, having first joined the team as far back as 1988. One of his more recent projects was the design of the VE and VF Commodores, sold in the U.S. as the Pontiac G8 and Chevrolet SS, respectively.

“Holden is in my blood and I’m looking forward to the challenge of ensuring Holden vehicles continue to evolve to meet the needs of our customers now and in the future,” Ferlazzo said in a statement. “I see my new role as integral to helping shape the Holden brand of the future and driving global collaboration for future product development.”

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