Bob Boniface was born the youngest of eight children in Youngstown, Ohio.
He's been drawing cars since he was four and always dreamed of designing them himself one day.
He graduated in 1987 from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and Economics and then worked as an accountant, while drawing cars in the evenings.
One of his sisters eventually talked him into going back to school for an art degree: in 1993, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan.
He joined Daimler Chrysler’s Advanced Product Design Studio, where he became Chief Designer and directed architectural design of the minivan Sto-N-Go seating as well as Chrysler’s rear wheel drive 300C.
At Daimler Chrysler Bob was the lead designer for the 2002 Jeep Liberty, 1998 Dodge Intrepid and the 1996 Dodge Intrepid ESX Hybrid Concept Car. In 1998, he received the Young Leadership and Excellence award from the Automotive Hall of Fame.
In 2003 he joined GM and became Director of Advanced Design Studio in Warren, Michigan, where he worked on the fuel cell concept vehicle the Sequel, the “top secret” Camaro concept project, and the Chevrolet Volt Concept which debuted a the North American International Auto Show in 2007.
Boniface is is currently Director of Design for the Chevrolet Volt: he supervises a team of 45 designers, sculptors, engineers, and support staff on the production Volt project.
GM’s all-new Design Studio is dedicated to the design of a wide variety of electric vehicles with a range extender, beginning with the Chevrolet Volt.
(Source: GM, portfolio.com)
