Ralph Gilles has been with the company for more than 30 years, holding a variety of positions with increasing responsibility in and outside of the product design office. Today, he serves as chief design officer for the Stellantis North America region where he is responsible for shaping and directing design for the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, Ram, Fiat (Latin America) and Maserati brands, as well as overseeing the corporate historical collection and archives.
During his career at the company, Gilles also served as the president and CEO of the Dodge//SRT brand and motorsports. At that time, he led the motorsports program to win three national championships, including the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver’s Championship and the 2014 IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GTLM-class drivers and team titles.
Gilles is extremely active inside the company as a member of the global Top Executive Team and the Stellantis Global Diversity Council. He is the executive sponsor for two employee business resource groups, the Stellantis African Ancestry Network Diaspora and the Working Parents Network. He is also the 2023-2024 Ambassador’s Club co-chair as part of the company’s involvement with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.
Gilles has earned numerous academic and industry awards, including the EyesOn Design Lifetime Achievement Award (2023), Multicultural Media Lifetime Achievement Auto Industry Award (2021), Concours d’Elegance of America’s Enthusiast of the Year (2017), The Michigan State Eli Broad Graduate School of Management Young Alumni Achievement Award (2005) and The Automotive Hall of Fame Young Leadership & Excellence Award (2003).
An avid car enthusiast, Gilles’ love for the automotive industry is evident outside of the office, where you can find him on the weekends competing in Radical Racing events or tackling legendary race tracks around the country, sometimes serving as driving coach and instructor. A competitor at heart, he has participated in the Targa Newfoundland Rally, Car and Driver’s One Lap of America, and the SRT Viper Cup Series. In addition, he frequently serves as a judge at various Concours d’Elegance events across the country, including Pebble Beach, Amelia Island, and the EyesOn Design car show.
Gilles earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in transportation design from the College for Creative Studies (CCS) and an MBA from Michigan State University. He also serves as a member of the board of trustees at CCS, and he was featured in season one of the Netflix original documentary series “Abstract: The Art of Design.”
Gilles was bestowed an honorary doctorate by Academy of Art University’s Director of Liberal Arts and the School of Art History, Gabriela Sotomayor, on Thursday, May 23. He delivered the following speech to this year’s graduating class.
Good afternoon to the esteemed faculty, staff, administration, and the 2024 graduates of the Academy of Art.
Also, a very special thank you to the parents and/or that very special person who helped to get all of you wonderful humans here today!
I know firsthand there isn’t a straight path to get here—I invented the gap year before it was a thing!
I was you 32 years ago, feeling a wild combination of accomplishment, of relief and fear all at the same time. I was so excited about a new sense of freedom and NOT having to pull all-nighters, what seemed like nearly every day.
But sitting at my commencement, there were so many unknowns about my future. It was terrifying. Today, there are even more unknowns and a social complexity that just wasn’t there even just a few years ago. For that, I deeply respect all of you in advance for being part of the solution! But please know that the future has a way of working out. I will try my best to offer a little constructive wisdom.
Having a plan doesn’t mean you aren’t the free-wheeling, free-spirited artist and maker that you want to be! The idea is for you to try to sort out your real priorities and do your best to line them up in some kind of general priority order. As you grow and accumulate knowledge, confidence, and means, you will adapt and realign them. You will be constantly inspired, especially as an artist.
But the plan for your professional life and especially your personal life isn’t a simple copy and paste of what you see out there, or more importantly, what you think you see.
Be inspired, of course. Be inspired by what you see but be most inspired by your future self.
The same way you may have built your social tribe so far in life, you will have to build a professional tribe.
Some people call them colleagues. I prefer to call them my work family! Most people will truly love to work with you if you make it so you all know what that means: generosity–starts with you and will come back to you with interest!
I can’t say this loud enough—collaboration is one of the most important things you will ultimately need to do, no matter how talented you are. But they are all teachers, too. Maybe in that pain, there is some truth. Certainly, in that pain is always a life lesson. The ultimate lesson is also not to emulate these people but to understand them intrinsically, and this has a beautiful effect of being the antidote to negativity!
In other words, if you focus on where you are going versus the moment, this stuff won’t hurt you. In fact, allow yourself to be vulnerable. Then shake it off and convert that energy into crafting people management tools to put in your personal toolbox. It will make you stronger as a multifaceted, more resilient, more excellent, and fulfilled creative professional.
You can learn as much from the toxic people as you can from inspirational people. All that to say that truly amazing humans are all around you, but you may not see them if you are looking down! Keep your head up and observe, adapt and thrive forward!
One way to keep looking forward is to find real mentors—mentorship matters. Embrace being fresh and new to your craft. Yes, you have a degree, but you still don’t know everything—especially the inter-human stuff, the soft skills.
But that was always the plan. So, don’t be afraid to ask for help, advice, or personal counsel.
Your degree is like a new passport just waiting for those beloved travel stamps!
I feel that even as an executive or as the “boss,” that I am still a work in progress, literally accumulating those stamps! In fact, I feel that way about life in general. I am forever on high alert for cool things, fascinating places, sweet moments, and, most importantly, people who inspire me! In the end, I am an absolute sucker for human energy!
So please never forget that your enthusiasm is infectious. It is that uniquely powerful weapon of epic potential! The enthusiasm you project about your work and your team are the rocket fuel of careers. It is the thing that excites leaders like us the most!
Finally, I feel that interplay between humans, also referred to as culture, may ultimately be the most important thing a company or team can nurture. But it isn’t necessarily the “BOSS” that truly controls it—you can one person at a time.
If I have learned anything on day one of my career, no one does it alone. I think it is true whether you work at a big corporation like I do, or an intimate agency or are independent. We all need each other; we all need mentorship and allies!
As I close, I want you to make a promise to yourself to laugh a lot–and I mean a lot–especially at yourself. Surround yourself with good people that don’t use you! Balance hard work with play and please balance your health. Be mindful of what you put in your body and careful of what you put in your mind. A clear mind is the most productive and beautiful thing!
Eat your damn veggies and get some sleep!
Never be ashamed of your curiosity! Ask a lot of questions as you go through life.
Now go knock on the door of life, kick it open if you have to! Have a lot of fun and bring as many people on that journey as you possibly can.