For the “sustainability” episode of The InEVitable, Jonny Lieberman and I chat with Volvo senior design manager Rekha Meena, live and direct from Volvo HQi
How does Volvo deliver a sumptuous, luxurious experience with recycled plastics, wool blends, flax fibers, and vegan leather?For the"sustainability" episode of The InEVitable, Jonny Lieberman and I chat with Volvo senior design manager Rekha Meena, live and direct from Volvo HQ in Gothenburg, Sweden. Meena was kind enough to stay after hours at work, while Jonny and I went in earlier than normal to the Podcast One studios in Beverly Hills.
And it was all worth it, as Meena gave us a master class on a variety of fascinating, wide-ranging topics, including what it's like to switch from designing hotel spaces and home furnishings to car interiors, to her move from India to Sweden, and her jump from a mass market brand to a luxury nameplate .
Meena has spent 17 years in the automotive industry; the first six of those years with Maruti Suzuki, Suzuki's joint venture in her native India. At Suzuki, Meena used her masters degree in textile design from the National Institute of Design , to inject color and life into the popular, value-focused brand. She won numerous awards while at Suzuki, not just for design excellence, but for her skills as a manager as well.
Without question, her combination of skill, experience, and warmth made it impossible for Volvo to pass on a talent like Meena—but just how does one move roughly 4,000 miles north, from India's year-round warmth, to cold and dark Swedish winters? And perhaps even more jarring—from a mass-market Japanese brand famous for motorcycles to a premium brand known around the world for its commitment to safety? With a smile, as we find out.
In her time at Volvo, Meena has worked to develop the interiors for numerous concept and production vehicles,