Stephenson was born in Morocco and educated in Turkey, Spain, and eventually, California, where he studied automotive design at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. Perhaps his nomadic upbringing gave him a keen eye for design; he has worked on almost everything, from luxury SUVs (the first-generation BMW X5) to lairy hot hatches like the Ford Escort RS Cosworth and, of course, genuine supercars.
Stephenson started his career at Ford’s design studio in Cologne, Germany, and later went on to BMW, where he spent more than a decade. During his time at the Bavarian automaker, he would pen the new Mini Cooper, which was launched to strong acclaim at the 2000 Paris Motor Show. As mentioned, he also designed the E53 generation BMW X5.
After 11 years, Stephenson jumped ship to Ferrari and Maserati, where he served as Director of Concept Design and Development.
