The man behind Mercedes-Benz: a Filipino Master of Design

Mercedes Benz is, undoubtedly, one of the best and most well-known automobile brands in the world. Behind Mercedes Benz—designing, not just driving its cars—is a Filipino.

How does a Filipino become a key designer for a world-renowned automobile brand?

Winifredo ‘Wini’ Camacho answered this question at the first Executive Talks of First Pacific Leadership Academy’s “Masters of Design” series. Hundreds gathered in  Meralco Theater on August 14 to hear WIni talk.

It takes more than talent to build great cars. “Talent is not enough. You must also have passion and dedication,” said Wini Camacho, Senior Exterior Designer for Production Cars at the prestigious Mercedes-Benz Headquarters in Sindelfingen, Germany. 

Born and raised in Manila, Wini’s  life proves the wisdom of his advice. Being a senior designer at Mercedes-Benz was not a job easily handed to Wini. He did not come from a life of privilege, nor did his parents come from the automobile industry. 

At a very young age, Wini was already obsessed with designing airplanes, spaceships, and his dream car. By high school, he was certain about pursuing industrial design. This he did, graduating cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas’ industrial design program in 1986. But, being an honor student is not enough to be a designer at Mercedes-Benz.

Initially, Wini worked as a furniture and interior designer in Manila. He then became a product designer for a merchandising company in Hong Kong (where he also designed toys). It was in Hong Kong where his obsession with car design started. 

While most people would have settled for a high-paying job in a first-world country, Wini left Hong Kong to study transportation design at the exclusive Art Center (Europe) in Vevey, Switzerland. He encountered several difficulties along the way, including lack of funds to sustain his studies and the closure of the Art Center school a year after. Undeterred, Wini overcame those challenges and transferred to Art Center College of Design in California where he graduated with honors in 1997. 

At the Executive Talks, Wini recalls that there were so many qualified candidates vying for a job at Mercedes Benz. When asked what made him stand out from other candidates, Wini credits the wide range of his design portfolio. Armed with his cumulative degrees and work experiences, Wini started as a junior transportation designer with Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design studio in Irvine, California in 1998.  Within the same year, he was transferred to Mercedes Benz’s main R&D center in Sindelfingen, Germany.

Apart from his exceptional talent, passion, and dedication, Wini has an incredible ability to adapt and learn. He worked in a variety of cultural settings with contrasting professional styles—from Germany to Italy, Japan, and China. He shared interesting anecdotes of his work experience with colleagues from varied nationalities. A mix of learning from different cultures while maintaining his Filipino values seems to have contributed to Wini’s exceptional accomplishments. 

Wini’s major works for Mercedes Benz include the A-Class F-Cell Exterior Facelift (2001), C-Class (W203) Exterior Facelift (2003), E-Class (W212) Exterior Design (2006), Concept A-Class Exterior Design at Auto Shanghai (2011), Concept Style Coupe Exterior Design at Auto China Beijing (2012), BDNT Denza EV Concept Car Exterior and Interior Design at Auto China Beijing (2012), Concept G-Code Exterior Design at Beijing (2014), and X-Class Concepts Exterior Design at Stockholm (2016).

At a meet-and-greet dinner the night before the Executive Talks, I showed Wini a photo of my friend’s new Mercedes-Benz C63s First Edition. While Wini took no part in designing the C63, he gave interesting insights on its design, exterior/interior details and Mercedes-Benz’s design philosophy. I then showed Wini a photo of a recently launched sports car of another automobile brand and he pointed out aspects of the car that revealed that brand’s innovativeness. 

Talking to Wini, one could easily get a sense of his inherent creative genius. Yet, he is unassuming, unpretentious and humble. He remains to be very Filipino. This is a stark contrast to some expatriates or balikbayans who develop an air of superiority or detachment from Filipino culture after spending some time abroad. 

Perhaps that is what makes Wini a perfect fit for Mercedes Benz. There is a parallelism between the two—both have an incredible ability to build-on best practices from around the world and be innovate, while keeping a strong sense of identity.

Throughout the years, Mercedes Benz has maintained its position as one of the leading automobile brands associated with luxury, high quality and superior performance. This achievement is understandable if Wini represents the caliber of people behind Mercedes Benz. A car designer fueled by talent, passion and dedication can reflect these qualities into exceptional designs. Consequently, these designs tend to draw people with the same drive for choosing the best cars, and achieving great things. 

Wini’s journey has gone further than car design. At a young age, he designed his life with a blue print for a big dream. He had always dreamed of becoming a car designer for a well-known international brand. Then, inspite of challenges along the way, he executed that blue print until he accomplished his dream. That, it seems, is what makes Wini Camacho a true Master of Design.