Kevin Hunter Appointed Executive Design Director
Toyota has announced key leadership changes within its North American design division. Kevin Hunter, who has served as President of Calty Design Research for 18 years and worked with Toyota for over 42 years, has been appointed Executive Design Director, Toyota North America. In this new role, Hunter will continue to oversee the Ann Arbor, Michigan studio, focusing on production vehicle development and North American manufacturing alignment. He will also serve as an executive consultant to Calty.
Ian Cartabiano Named President of Calty
Succeeding Hunter is Ian Cartabiano, now President of Calty Design Research. Cartabiano began his career at Calty in 1997 and brings extensive global experience from his recent position leading Toyota Europe Design and Development. He is best known for visionary work on Lexus concepts such as the LF-30 and LF-Z Electrified. Based in Newport Beach, Cartabiano will lead Calty’s Advanced Design Studio, working on next-generation concepts for Toyota and Lexus brands. Both leaders report to Simon Humphries, Chief Branding Officer and Head of Design, Toyota Motor Company.
Calty Design Studio: Toyota’s Creative Core in North America
A Dual-Studio Model for Innovation and Execution
Founded in 1973, Calty Design Research was Toyota’s first dedicated design studio outside Japan, created to inject American sensibilities into Toyota’s global design language. With facilities in Newport Beach, California, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, Calty balances advanced creative ideation with production-focused development.
The Newport Beach studio serves as an innovation hub, shaping early-stage concepts and design language evolution. Projects like the Toyota FT-1, FJ Cruiser, and Lexus LC500 originated here—vehicles that showcase Calty’s ability to balance dramatic form with brand strategy.
The Ann Arbor studio plays a complementary role, ensuring production feasibility and aligning concept work with engineering and manufacturing teams. This East-West design synergy allows Toyota to go from sketch to street with consistency and emotional impact.
Calty Culture
Hands-On Mentorship and Creative Freedom
For designers, Calty offers a uniquely fertile ground where blue-sky thinking meets executional discipline. The studio is built on a culture of mentorship, cross-functional collaboration, and experimentation. Tools like clay modeling, VR surfacing, and SubD workflows are standard, with equal emphasis on proportions, innovation, and human experience.
New hires often cite access to veteran design leaders, exposure to global project cycles, and a flat hierarchy that encourages voice and vision from day one. Under Cartabiano’s presidency and Hunter’s guidance, the studio is expected to continue this design-first ethos while adapting to the changing landscape of mobility, sustainability, and electrification.
Calty’s Role in Toyota’s Future
As Toyota embraces a future driven by EVs, autonomous systems, and digital UX, Calty’s mission is expanding. The studio will be critical in shaping how these technologies are expressed emotionally—through form, gesture, and materiality.
From a designer’s lens, Calty remains a space where ideas aren’t just drawn—they’re built, felt, and driven. With a renewed leadership structure and half a century of design heritage, Calty stands poised to help define the next chapter of Toyota and Lexus design.
