Saab Designer Jason Castriota Named One of 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company

ROYAL OAK, Mich., May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Featured in Fast Company's June 2011 issue is the third annual ranking of The 100 Most Creative People in Business and Saab's Executive Director of Design, Jason Castriota joins the ranking at number 69.  Jason shares the honor with a prestigious list of influential executives, artists and impresarios crafting our culture – and our future.  The June issue of Fast Company magazine is on newsstands beginning May 24, 2011.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110523/DE06462 )

"I am incredibly honored to be selected by Fast Company as one of 100 Most Creative People in Business," said Jason Castriota, Executive Director Design, Saab Automobile AB.  "To be included within such an impressive list of professionals encompassing technology, entertainment, design and education signifies the breadth and depth that creativity carries to all facets of our lives."

Jason is most recently responsible for creating the next generation of Saab cars – the Saab PhoeniX concept. Based on new architecture which will empower the next Saab 9-3 model, the PhoeniX introduces 'aeromotional' design inspired by Saab's aviation roots, the Phoenix captures Saab's new design direction and future technologies.  

Jason hails from New York metropolitan area and graduated from Emerson College in Boston before attending the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. In 2001, he left the college to join Pininfarina's design studio in Turin, Italy, where he rose to hold the positions of Chief Designer and Responsible for Special Projects. He took up the position of Director of Design at Stile Bertone in 2008 and then opened a design consultancy with offices in New York and Turin. In June 2010, he was appointed Executive Director Design at Saab Automobile. In this position Mr. Castriota and his design company are responsible for exterior and interior design and will lead the design activities at Saab.

About Saab

Saab, or Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Aircraft Company), was founded in 1937 as an aircraft manufacturer and revealed its first prototype passenger car 10 years later after the formation of the Saab Car Division. In 1990, Saab Automobile AB was created as a separate company, jointly owned by the Saab Scania Group and General Motors, and became a wholly-owned GM subsidiary in 2000. In February 2010, Spyker Cars N.V. of the Netherlands, acquired the company from GM as an independently-run business.

Saab cars reflect the brand's unique Scandinavian design ethic, which is fused with its aircraft engineering heritage. The company is a global premium car maker with a distinguished history of innovation. It is recognized for its pioneering role in turbocharging, as well as occupant safety and the introduction of flex-fuel technology through Saab BioPower. Saab Automobile AB currently employs approximately 3,800 staff in Sweden, where it operates world-class production and technical development facilities at its headquarters in Trollhattan, 70 km north of Gothenburg. http://media.saab.com

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the world's leading progressive business-media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethonomics (ethical economics), leadership, and design. Written for, by, and about the most progressive business leaders. Editor Robert Safian was named AdWeek's Editor of the Year in 2009. Under the leadership of publisher Christine Osekoski, Fast Company has made AdWeek's Hot List for three consecutive years, and FastCompany.com executive editor Noah Robischon has tripled traffic and revenue year over year. Fast Company is owned by Joe Mansueto, founder, chairman, and CEO of Morningstar, a leading provider of independent investment research.

SOURCE Saab Cars North America