As of
December 1, 2008, Jason Castriota, formerly the top designer
at Pininfarina, has become the new Design Director of Stile
Bertone, the design and engineering firm headed by
Marie-Jeanne Bertone, first-born daughter of Nuccio.
With this
high-level new appointment Marie-Jeanne confirms that the
plan of relaunch implemented by the CEO Dr. Teresio Gigi
Gaudio, is now reaching its primary objectives both in terms
of the arrival of top level professionals, and in terms of
the addition of new clients and work orders.
Jason
Castriota said in a statement issued by Stile Bertone today,
“It is an incredible honour to take on the role of Design
Director at Stile Bertone. In today’s rapidly changing and
ever more competitive market, we have set forth the singular
objective of being a 'Boutique of Excellence'." To achieve
such a goal, Bertone has assembled a highly accomplished,
young and dynamic team; and together they will strive to
create a fresh and innovative point of view in automotive
and industrial design.
Castriota
was born in New York and after graduating from college he
attended the prestigious Art Center College of Design in
Pasadena just like so many other famous automotive
designers. He came to Europe to complete his internship with
Pininfarina in Turin. Following his internship he took up a
role at Pininfarina, working under the then head of design,
Ken Okuyama. Castriota took over the top design role at
Pininfarina and put his name to a string of highly-regarded
luxury sports cars such as the Maserati GranTurismo and
Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, one-off concepts such as the
Maserati Birdcage 75th and Rolls-Royce Hyperion, the latter
which debuted at the Pebble Beach Concours this summer, and
bespoke customer specials, like the Ferrari Enzo-based
Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina, developed specially for
American car collector Jim Glickenhaus, and the restyled
Ferrari 612 Kappa, created for another American collector,
this time Peter Kalikow. Castriota left Pininfarina in
mid-September.
