• by Tanya Gazdik , February 22, 2023

Mazda North American Operations has filled a key position that intersects design and marketing.

The automaker has appointed Jacques Flynn director, brand style management.

He will oversee all aspects of Mazda brand design for North America, including fostering strong relationships and collaborations between Mazda design and marketing. He will report to Yasutake Tsuchida, senior director, Mazda Design America, who lauded Flynn for his “notable accomplishments and passion for design.”

"Jacques' background in brand management will support both Mazda design and brand style with key insights for the coming connected, automated, shared and electric (CASE) era," Tsuchida says in a release.

Flynn worked previously with Mazda Design America between 2006 and 2017 as lead exterior designer. Most recently, he spend 5 1/2 years as director of exterior design for EV startup Karma Automotive.

"As Mazda continues its push towards premium, it will be imperative to also evolve the Mazda brand through the lens of the CASE era, a challenge I am most excited about," Flynn says in a release. "I am thrilled to be back at Mazda, a company that prides itself on being design-driven with such an emphasis on the brand and how the two are inherently tied together.”

Flynn is also founder and owner of Jaqet, an 11-year-old accessories company that produces leather wallets and other items  handmade in California. 

A 2006 graduate of ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, Flynn began his career with internships at both BMW and Volkswagen AG.