The National Corvette Museum is pleased to announce that Brian Baker has been named Director of Collections & Education. Baker joins the National Corvette Museum team from the Automotive Hall of Fame where he served as Vice President of Education and Principal Historian.
Baker’s impressive automotive career spans decades as a General Motors Senior Creative Design Manager and as Vice President of Design and Marketing at American Specialty Cars. With a passion for education, Baker has served as an Adjunct Professor at the Automotive History College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan for over two decades. In addition to his work in corporate automotive design and education, Baker founded AUTOARCHEOLOGY, LLC, an international Design Consulting Firm, in 2009. Through this company’s work, Baker has represented four major automakers as an expert witness in design patent issues.
Baker’s depth of knowledge has resulted in him becoming a sought-after expert for the media. In recent years, Baker has served as an assistant producer and on-camera expert for the Discovery Channel and has worked as an automotive historian and analyst for ESPN. He also regularly serves as a writer, editor, and book developer, and he has worked on projects all over the globe including Europe, India, Japan, and South Korea. Baker holds a degree in Transportation Design from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
“After four decades of working around the Corvette culture through my museum experiences along with my tenure at General Motors, I’m thrilled to be returning to Kentucky to work with the talented team at the National Corvette Museum. My experiences range from growing up around the racing community in Indianapolis to working in the Chevrolet Studios as a designer. I’ve owned and admired Corvettes all my life. In high school, 44-years ago as a young artist, I created a Corvette mural to express my passion for the Corvette. Now as an automotive historian, I want to elevate the world’s awareness of this important icon of American culture. To join this team on the verge of the 70th birthday celebration for the car feels like a great honor,” said Brian Baker.
According to Sharon Brawner, President and CEO of the National Corvette Museum, the organization is thrilled to bring Baker to Bowling Green. “Brian has dedicated his entire career to the study of automotive design and history. At heart, he’s an educator and I am sure that our impressive collection will inspire him to enrich our exhibition program and provide our museum guests with even greater Corvette experiences.”
Baker will assume his duties in June.