During his six-year tenure as Rolls-Royce design boss, Giles Taylor was responsible for the Wraith, Dawn, latest Phantom, Vision Next 100 concept and, of course, the all-new Cullinan. But now he's out, abruptly announcing his resignation, according to the automaker. No immediate replacement has been named yet, most likely because Giles' departure took management by surprise. Where's Giles heading? Unclear as of how, the only clue given was the he wants "to pursue alternative business interests."

That could mean a lot of things, but we wouldn't be surprised to see him show up at another brand in the near future. Prior to joining Rolls-Royce, Giles spent 15 years at Jaguar where, as design boss, was responsible for the XF and XJ sedans. Prior to that he was employed at the PSA Group. During Giles tenure at Rolls-Royce, the brand has not undergone a dramatic design revolution, but rather followed a far more evolutionary path. That seems to have worked just fine, but Rolls-Royce is now in a position to alter that. Should it dramatically push its design limits or stay within its relative safe zone?

Giles successor will clearly be chosen based on that upper management decision. Remember, Rolls-Royce, like Mini, is owned by BMW, so it's possible Giles' replacement could come from within. Whoever they wind up being, there's plenty of work to be done. First project: the next-generation Ghost.