You know Peter Schreyer as the creative brain behind many beloved Audis and, since taking over design at Kia, the 10th most influential person in the auto industry. Time to bump him up to at least 9th as Kia has named him the first non-Korean president of their company.
What's actually happening at Kia isn't entirely clear as the press release makes no mention of what's happened to current president Hyoung-Keun Lee, although it seems like he may have been promoted to vice-chairman.
Before coming to Kia the company was slowly accruing market share merely by being cheaper and, at best, beiger than its competition. That quickly changed after he joined the company in 2006 and its been massive grilles and taut lines ever since. This promotion is a clear sign that Kia wants to be taken seriously as a global brand.