BRIAN A. RICE
Senior Vice President,
Chief Design and Brand Experience Officer
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Brian Rice joined 3M as Senior Vice President, Chief Brand and Design Officer in October of 2020. As the global leader for the 3M Design, corporate brand, and partnerships functions, Brian oversees 3M’s endeavors to leverage company purpose, brand positioning, design, and formerly corporate partnerships to connect with customers, consumers, and stakeholders to continually deliver on the company’s legacy of 3M Science. Applied to Life™.
Bringing more than 25 years of experience, Brian has bridged the power of design thinking fused with business strategy for some of the world’s most valuable, trusted, and iconic brands and companies, including Procter & Gamble, The Coca-Cola Company, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Georgia-Pacific. Throughout his career, Brian has led brand positioning, purpose development, brand design, packaging development, product design and innovation, advertising, digital content, and creative communications to drive business growth.
Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Graphic Design and Management from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida, where he currently serves as a board member for the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication (SJGC) and is the recipient of the 2022 SJGC Distinguished Alumni Award. He is active in the design, fine arts, and civic community, where he has served as a Board Member of AIGA Atlanta and Board of Directors for the Museum of Design Atlanta. Currently, he serves as a member of the 100 Black Men of North Metro Atlanta, Inc., Vice-President and Board Member of the Diversity in Design Collaborative and serves as a Board Trustee of The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Additionally, Brian enjoys mentoring youth and emerging creatives interested in design, advertising, and creative careers.
Brian resides in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lives alongside his wife, Tevi, and their two college-aged children, Brandon and Kylie.
DAVID BUTLER
Co-founder at SoWhat
Former VP, Global Design & Innovation
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David's superpower is in helping companies use design to strategically drive growth.
David leads strategy at SoWhat (so-what.io), a brand design agency he co-founded in 2022. SoWhat helps early-stage startups like Early Majority, and established global brands like Duracell and The United Way create iconic brand identity systems.
In 2017, David joined Kids2 as Chief Growth Officer, responsible for strategy, product design, and brand marketing. He led the transformation of Baby Einstein from a product brand to a global media brand and year-over-year double digit revenue growth.
In 2004, David joined Coca-Cola as the company's first VP of Global Design. He was part of a turnaround team that helped double the value of the company in less than a decade. Through his leadership, Coca-Cola won the Cannes Film Festival's first Grand Prix of Design, reinvented it's global Fountain Business through Coca-Cola Freestyle and saved over $100M annually through a Canva-like app called Design Machine. He also led the Company's first venture fund generating a portfolio of startups around the world including 3 unicorns.
Prior to Coke, David led brand strategy for Publicis Sapient helping some of the world’s most valuable brands become digital including UPS, IBM, Bank of America, Delta and Gucci. He began his career as a graphic designer specializing in large-scale branding systems including 3 Olympic Games.
Originally from a small beach-town in Florida, David has traveled across 6 continents and over 50 countries. He has been recognized by Fast Company as a Master of Design, one of America's 50 most influential designers and included in Fortune’s Executive Dream Team. David co-authored, Design to Grow: How Coca-Cola Learned to Combine Scale and Agility now translated in 25 languages. Daniel Pink called it a “master class in problem solving,” and Tim Brown said it caused him to "rethink IDEO."
JENNIFER MERCHANT
Brand & Design Executive
Former Vice President of Design P&G
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As a Design and Brand Building Senior Executive, Jen has an outstanding record of brand development and business-building results from upstream innovation through commercial execution, providing design leadership and business strategy integration for more than 20 years.
Most recently, Jen held the role of Vice President of Design for Global Fabric Care at Procter and Gamble, leading a team of multi-disciplinary designers across some of the most iconic brands in consumer goods. Jen built a thriving design organization and established in-house creative teams across the globe. Jen has always put her people first. As a partner to business leadership, she focused on evolving capabilities that could further transform the way P&G leveraged design.
Jen’s 20 years of experience at P&G have included design development, brand building, and strategic leadership on a multitude of billion-dollar household brands and businesses including Pringles, Folgers, Vicks, Metamucil, Align, Prilosec, Pepto Bismol, Downy, Tide, Gain, Ariel, Lenor, Unstopables, Bounce and Dreft. Much of Jen’s iconic branding remains on shelf even today as examples of asset consistency and brand equity sustaining results over time.
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Expertise and skills: brand strategy |design and business integration | leading agency creative teams | leading internal design studios | brand equity and architecture | lean innovation | visual identity and packaging | design sprints | consumer insights and understanding |behavioral and cognitive science | organizational leadership | remote management | digital content creation
TYSONN BETTS
Former Design VP, P&G and Co Founder @ Huenited
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Right Brain to the Business |Former P&G Design VP | Founder | Connector | ADWEEK Brandstar| Keynote Speaker | Board Director | Third-Way Thinker | Strategy and Innovation Advisor
Tysonn is a father, founder, advisor, strategist, creative problem solver and third way maker.
With his unique ability to find and make uncommon connections- Tysonn brings an endless energy and passion to leverage creative acumen in solving business problems. Through seamless integration; this right brain to the business works to develop superior equities and engaging brand experiences to unlock emotional resonance, growing brands and their bottom lines!
Born a creative, trained a designer, and developed to become a business leader, Tysonn Graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, AL, completed his BFA in Visual communication at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD and earned his MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati.
A 28-year veteran of Procter & Gamble, Tysonn left P&G in 2024 as Design Vice President, after having led end to end Design teams in Oral Care, Health Care, Fabric Care, Home Care, Baby Care, Pet Care, P&G Corporate Brand, P&G Ventures, and Family Care (paper). Tysonn has broad design experience- leading teams or rolling up his sleeves to stand up new brand like Swiffer, and Zevo, or managing and growing the iconic equities of Tide, Pampers, Crest, and Charmin.
Tysonn has delivered unique and immersive experiences for P&G's Family Home at the London and Sochi Olympic Games, been responsible for applying right brain thinking to architectural & office solutions, as well as organizational strategy and functional integration.
In 2024, Tysonn launched ministry of DESIGN to consult and apply his discontinuous thinking to help solve complex brand and business problems in and for Design leaders, brands, startups, agencies and established organizations; making and growing believers of design!
A Southern boy at heart, Tysonn rises from and frequently returns to the red dirt of Monroeville, AL, appreciates a wandering road through the bourbon trails of Kentucky, spending the day laughing and busting clays with his wife, or giving his kids a hard time- as any multifarious father should!
RAPHA ABREU
Vice President of Global Design
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Rapha Abreu is a visionary design leader with over two decades of experience revolutionizing global brands. Currently serving as the Vice President of Global Design at The Coca-Cola Company, Rapha oversees the design expressions for some of the world's most iconic billion-dollar brands, including Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Powerade, and Smartwater. He became the first Latino to hold this prestigious position, exemplifying his ability to break barriers while driving innovative design strategies.
At Coca-Cola, Rapha leads a comprehensive global design strategy, focusing on brand identity, visual language, product design, interactive design, motion identity, and retail design. He is celebrated for his ability to blend creativity with strategic vision, flawless aesthetics with breakthrough functionality, creating distinctive and cohesive brand experiences that resonate worldwide. His leadership has also been instrumental in integrating sustainability into design processes, emphasizing the use of improved materials and technologies.
Before his current role, Rapha was the Vice President and Global Head of Design at Restaurant Brands International, where he spearheaded the widely celebrated rebranding of Burger King, as well as transformative design projects for Popeyes and Tim Hortons. His visionary work at RBI set new benchmarks in the quick-service restaurant industry, particularly with innovative retail concepts like the flagship Popeyes store in Shanghai and touchless design standards for Burger King.
Rapha's work has garnered multiple prestigious awards, including multiple Gold Cannes Lions, D&AD Wood and Graphite Pencils, and Dieline Awards. His Burger King rebrand alone earned him over 50 accolades such as Fast Company’s Rebrand of the Year and Gold awards from the Art Directors Club.
In addition to his professional achievements, Rapha has served as a jury president for The One Show and Brazil Design Awards, and a judge for prominent awards like D&AD, Effie, Dieline and El Dorado. His thought leadership extends to conference presentations at renowned events such as D&AD Festival, How Design Live, and Adobe Max. His expertise has also been featured in numerous publications, including Fast Company, Creative Review, and Forbes.
JENNA BANKS
Keynote Speaker, Best-Selling Author, The Jenna Banks Show
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Jenna Banks is a public speaker, moderator, facilitator, host of The Jenna Banks Show, best-selling author and a repeat entrepreneur. Her thought leadership has been featured in a wide variety of media outlets that include: Forbes, ABC, NBC and Authority Magazine.
Jenna’s book titled “I Love Me More: How To Find Happiness and Success Through Self-Love” was released March 8, 2022 on International Women’s Day, quickly becoming an Amazon best-seller. Her inaugural book won top honors in the Women's Health category at the 2023 National Indie Excellence Awards.
Her inspirational talks have been brought to events and stages that include: cyber security, C-suite executives, women’s leadership, software development, payments, and the fintech industry.
Earlier in her career, she worked in Sales & Business Development Director roles, working closely with brands that included: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Hasbro, Mattel, and Lego.
In 2012 she founded Brand Spirit, a marketing products company, which she sold shortly before the onset of the global pandemic.
Since then she's been focused on inspiring and empowering others through her writing, speaking, facilitating & moderating live events and her show. Most recently, she's also founded SwagLove, a socially conscious company that produces custom branded gifts & giveaways.
Sign up for Jenna's free self-love tips, tools and reminders at ilovemenotes.com
Check out Jenna's book "I Love Me More" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Me-More-Happiness-Self-Love/dp/1956072004
JARED RICHARDSON
Design-led Business Leader
Former SVP, Global Head of Design
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Jared is an uncommon business leader, standing at the intersection of design, brand, strategy and innovation – with deep experience inside and outside complex organizations.
He is the former SVP, Global Head of Design for Colgate-Palmolive. He was responsible for driving the cultural transformation towards a design-integrated organization. He led the Global Design team responsible for the Packaging Design, the physical and digital product Design and Design Operations of the Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care, Skin Health and Pet Nutrition brands.
He has worked on everything from hamburgers and hotdogs for Shake Shack to better-for-the-planet packaging and future delivery systems for Coca-Cola. He has led inter-disciplinary teams for clients that include both early-stage owners and Fortune 100 companies.
Before joining Colgate-Palmolive Jared co-founded The Velo Group where, as Chief Creative Officer, he managed and grew the business while leading the creative expression and brand experience of each project. Prior to this he was Partner and Executive Creative Director at Fahrenheit 212. Jared has taught Strategy & Innovation at the School of Visual Arts' IxD (Interaction Experience Design) Master in Fine Arts program.
KARA BUCKLER
Senior Director, Creative + Design
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Kara Buckler is the Senior Director of Creative & Design at the J.M. Smucker Co., a Fortune 500 Consumer Packaged Goods Company with a portfolio of leading brands across Coffee, Pet Food, Sweet Baked Snacks and Spreads. During her tenure at Smucker, Kara has strengthened the organization’s creative capabilities, culture and talent through the creation of the Company’s first in-house agency and the building of a multidisciplinary Design function. Kara has a passion for amplifying the power of Design in business and uses this as a guiding principle in her role on the Company’s Leadership Team and on a number of boards in the Northeast Ohio region.
GREGG HEARD
VP, Design
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Gregg Heard is an executive design leader with a proven track record of driving design and creativity at scale. He is an award-winning designer with 30+ years of experience in a wide range of design disciplines and is known for leading multidisciplinary teams to create transformational design programs and brand experiences for some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated brands, including AT&T, 3M, Logitech, Sony, IBM, Burger King, Caterpillar, Philips, and UPS.
In his current role, Gregg serves as VP, Global Design at Restaurant Brands International. In this role he is responsible for building the Design function to design the brand experience for Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons and Firehouse Subs in all international markets.
Before joining RBI, he served as Design Officer at 3M and Vice President of Global Brand Design at AT&T. During his tenure at AT&T, he set the strategic direction for the AT&T brand experience, transforming it from a transient system into an iconic and enduring program. Prior to AT&T, he served as Senior Creative Director for Philips Design in the Netherlands and Director of User Experience for Sapient in their Atlanta, London, and San Francisco offices.
Numerous design publications and organizations have recognized Gregg’s work, including the International Forum on Design, Communications Arts, Graphis, Graphic Design USA, and the Smithsonian’s National Design Museum. Gregg is a frequently sought-after speaker and judges at international design conferences and design competitions.
Throughout his career he’s found purpose in mentoring talent, helping them to clarify and elevate their ideas. He believes that building their confidence allows them to make the most of their talent and reach their highest potential in their careers.
RICHARD DALTON
Head of Design
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Richard Dalton is the Head of Consumer Design at Verizon, where he leads a team of 500 designers who create human-centric experiences for over 100 million customers. Richard mixes business and design skills with an entrepreneurial spirit about how to design a design team - one that’s human-centered, business-savvy, and committed to fostering an inclusive, thriving culture.
ROGER ROHATGI
VP, Global Head of Design and Change
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Roger Rohatgi leads digital design and change at bp, a global team of innovative thinkers, user experience (UX) professionals and creatives focused on supercharging human experience design (HXD) and enabling change. Human-centered design is the North Star he followed to create and deliver the first bp design discipline and system. This includes driving design best practice and digital circularity across the company, as well as introducing an award-winning ‘sustainable design’ methodology and an inclusive design mindset.
Prior to bp, Roger spent 25+ years with creative, transformative teams, spearheading digital
innovation and delivering captivating customer and user experiences with agencies, media outlets, and top brands such as Verizon, Twitter, Hyundai, Vine, Motorola Solutions and major TV networks such as CBS, NBC Universal, MTV, FOX, CNBC Arabia, ZEE TV and more. His TV, film and commercial work has been featured on the likes of MTV, ESPN, Nickelodeon, NBC, and ABC, and he has won awards both as a film producer and in design, including the Oracle CX Innovation Award for inclusive UX. Some of his work has also been seen in Fast Co., Wired, USA Today, LA Times, Hollywood Reporter, Advertising Age and Forbes.com.
Roger sees the strategic role of HXD in the changes needed to achieve a brighter, more equitable and more sustainable future. He gets super energized by designing better, more human experiences with digital and the sustainable impact we can have for people and planet through design.
CHUCK JONES
Chief Design and Ux Officer
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Chuck Jones is a C-level design executive with a strong global leadership background in diverse product development, advanced R&D and leading business P&L. His strengths include significant global market perspective for multiple industries in complex growth initiatives spanning North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Chuck was named GE Healthcare’s first Chief Design Officer in June of 2023 and is responsible for the design and user experience of all GE Healthcare’s physical and digital products. An internationally recognized design leader, Jones effectively manages multi-disciplinary creative and product development organizations on a global scale. He has a high value personal business network from Wall Street to global design and technology leaders to cutting edge corporate CEO's
Chuck has demonstrated design leadership experience across global businesses in staff and line roles at companies such as Herman Miller, Xerox, Whirlpool, Newell Brands and Intuitive Surgical. At Intuitive, Chuck was hired to lead design, brand, clinical development engineering and user research capabilities and spearhead the development of a ten-year product roadmap throughout all Intuitive products and services to drive top line revenue.
Chuck is one of the first design leaders to serve on multiple corporate boards. He serves on the Board of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he chairs the Nominations and Governance Committee and is a member of the Executive Committee. Chuck also serves on the Board of Directors at Lane Automotive focusing on growth, innovation and corporate transformation. He is a Board Advisor for Ronovo Surgical.
Chuck is a recipient of the White House Smithsonian National Design Award, which is given to those who have demonstrated impact and leadership in the areas of design, positive change on society and innovation. He was also named a Fellow by the Industrial Designer’s Society of America, its highest distinction, has been recognized a Master of Design by Fast Company Magazine and was elected to the Academy of Fellows of the World Technology Network. Chuck has been granted 43 patents to date and has won in excess of 1000 international product design awards. These include a Red Dot 'Best of the Best' for the Da Vinci SP surgical robot and the Ion Endoluminal System in 2019. His design work has been the subject of exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, The Louvre and the Triennale Milano.
Chuck is a graduate of Purdue University degrees in Industrial Design and Human Factors Engineering with a specialization in cognition, perception and human science. Charles also completed a Xerox Executive Management program at Cornell University. He was named Alumni of the Year by Purdue University in 2008, the first graduate from the school of design to be so honored.
MICHELLE STUHL
President & CEO
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Michelle is President and CEO of Michelle Stuhl & Company, a global retained Executive Search firm committed to helping leaders build and grow their companies. The company is a strategic and research-driven practice with deep expertise in Creative/Design, Innovation, Digital, Marketing and Merchandising across all sectors.
The company has significant international experience, including placements of C-Level and Senior Executives in leadership roles in the U.K., Europe, Asia, and South America. Notable clients include Nike, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay, Johnson & Johnson, Philips, MillerKnoll, Virgin, LVMH, Estée Lauder Companies, e.l.f. cosmetics, The Obama Foundation, The MoMA, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Michelle champions diversity and inclusion, and for more than 20 years over 60% of placements have been filled with diverse candidates.
Michelle has established herself as a thought leader in the field, writing a notable article for Forbes Magazine examining the rising role of the Chief Design Officer, and is a frequent guest lecturer at prestigious universities across America, including the ArtCenter College of Design. In addition, Michelle has participated in and moderated panels at DMI (Design Management Institute) Symposiums.
She has served on the Advisory Board for the Arizona State University Master of Science in Innovation & Venture Development program, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, the Arizona State University Museum of Art, and the Mesa Museum of Contemporary Art.
Michelle has an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and is a dedicated Fine Artist in her spare time. Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries across the U.S. and internationally including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The DeYoung Museum, The Louvre, The Victoria and Albert Museum, and more. She maintains studios in New York and Arizona.
To learn more about our services, please visit https://michellestuhl.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-stuhl-3347b34/
MAURO PORCINI
SVP & Chief Design Officer
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Mauro Porcini is PepsiCo's first ever Chief Design Officer. He joined the food & beverage corporation in 2012 and in said role he is infusing design thinking into PepsiCo’s culture and is leading a new approach to innovation by design that impacts the company’s product platforms and brands, which include Pepsi, Lay’s, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Sodastream, Quaker, 7Up, Doritos, Lifewtr, Bubly, Aquafina, Cheetos, Mirinda, amongst many others. His focus extends from physical to virtual expressions of the brands, including product, packaging, experience, events, fashion and art collaborations, retail activation, architecture, and digital media.
He leads a team of 400+ people, based in the company’s 17 design centers around the world. Since its inception in 2012, PepsiCo’s Design has been recognized with more than 2,200 design and innovation awards from several institutions around the world. Fortune included PepsiCo in their 2018 “Driven by Design” list, one of only two organizations in the Food and Beverage Industry.
In the fall of 2022, Mauro published the book The Human Side of Innovation. The Power of People in Love with People (Berrett-Koehler), which focuses on innovation, design and leadership. The book was named a Gold Winner of the Better Future – New York Design Award the month of its publication. In the spring of 2021, he published the book L'Età dell'Eccellenza - Come Innovazione e Creatività Possono Costruire un Mondo Migliore (Il Saggiatore). It is now in its fifth reprint.
In 2023 he published with his PepsiCo’s design team the book Good Design is for Everyone (Rizzoli).
Prior to joining PepsiCo, Mauro served as the first ever Chief Design Officer at 3M, where his mission was to build and nurture a design sensitive culture in a technology driven global corporation. His teams, based in the U.S., Italy, China and Japan, won many of the world’s most prestigious design and innovation awards.
Mauro began his professional career at Philips Design and then created his own design firm, Wisemad Srl, in Italy with the celebrated entertainment producer and music star Claudio Cecchetto. His work on wearable technologies has been showcased at the Louvre in Paris as well as the Seoul Art Center.
Over the years he has been on the board of directors for several organizations. Currently, he is the President of the Politecnico of Milan Foundation in the United States (Fellows of Politecnico), sits on the board of directors of the Design Management Institute, and on the advisory council of other design, art, innovation and business institutions.
Mauro is the host of the podcast “In your shoes - with Mauro Porcini” on Apple podcast, Spotify and YouTube, where he interviews inspiring personalities from the creative community worldwide. And for several seasons he’s been a presenter and judge on the TV show New York by Design and America by Design, airing on CBS and Amazon Prime Video.
Mauro is a fashion lover, but not a fashion addict – regardless of his collection of more than 350 pairs of shoes. He lives between New York City and the Hamptons with his wife Carlotta, with their daughter Beatrice, and with their three Pomeranians, Leone, Bella and Lupo.
Awards and Recognitions
One of Mauro’s proudest honors, bestowed upon him by the President of the Italian Republic, is the title of Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia, an order of knighthood for “extraordinary merits in the preservation and promotion of national prestige abroad, promoting friendly relations and co-operation with other countries and ties with Italy.”
In the past several years Mauro has then been recognized with a variety of other honors and awards for his achievements in the fields of design and innovation.
Most recently, in the summer of 2024, he was inducted in the “Albo d’Onore dell’Ordine degli Architetti” in the city of Varese, Italy.
In 2023 he was included in the list of the “100 most inspiring people of 2023” by OOOM magazine, together with a series of incredibly diverse leaders and renowned change makers, from a variety of different fields - from president Joe Biden to the Dalai Lama, from Oprah Winfrey to Greta Thunberg, from president Volodymyr Zelenskyj to Pope Francis, from Richard Branson to David Attenborough, and many others.
In the same year, he was the recipient of the ItalPress award and the Business Care International award, in New York City. In 2022 Mauro was a Laureate of the American Prize for Design by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, a recognition that honors a specific design practitioner with the highest public accolade for producing design that promotes design excellence, innovation, and lasting design. In 2021 he was named one of “2020’s Top 25 Most Influential Innovators” by InnoLead (Boston). In 2020 the Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia) named him “Innovator of the Year.” In 2019 he received the Pentawards “Visionary Award” in London. In 2018 he was honored in New York City with the DrivenXDesign “Chairman’s Better Future Award,” given to those individuals that have led Expeditions to a Better Future, working over the last decade to make a difference in the world. In 2016, the Italy America Chamber of Commerce awarded him with the “Business and Culture Award,” a recognition given every year to one Italian that has performed in an extraordinary way in the United States in the fields of business and culture. That same year he received the “US Design Brand Leader Award.” In 2015, the newspaper Il Giornale named him “One of the 10 Italians that will change the world” while GQ Italy listed him as one of the “30 Best Dressed Men of 2015.” In 2014, Mauro was included in Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business 1000,” an influential, diverse group of modern Renaissance men and women across the economy and around the globe. He was also recognized with the “PrimiDieci Under 40,” an award that celebrates the extraordinary professional and personal success of the ten most distinguished Italians in the U.S. every year. Since 2013 Mauro has been part of the “Italian Talents in a Foreign Country” community of the Aspen Italia Institute chaired by prof. Giulio Tremonti. In 2012 Fortune Magazine listed him in the “40 under 40” ranking – its list of “the business’s hottest rising stars” – the only designer included, Ad Age named him in the “Creativity 50” – its list of the “world’s most influential creative personalities” and the PoliMi association of the University Politecnico of Milan recognized him with the Alumni Polimi Awards 2012 for the “great merit of contributing to enrich the Italian culture in the world.” In 2011, Fast Company recognized him as one of the “50 Most Influential Designers in America” and “Master of Design” while the World HR Forum in Mumbai presented him with its “Award for Leadership and Innovation.” The Wall Street Journal’s CFO Journal in 2011 called him “the man putting 3M on the design map,” and under his design leadership, 3M made Fast Company’s list of 30 companies that “get” design.
Mauro’s work has been featured in several books on design and innovation in multiple regions of the world. Amongst others:
“Creative Confidence” (by Tom Kelley and David Kelley),
“Harvard Business Review’s 10 Must Reads – On Design Thinking” (HBR),
“Harvard Business Review’s 10 Must Reads – The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from HBR – 2017” (HBR),
Jugaad Innovation (by Simon Ahuja, Navi Radjou, Jaydeep Prabhu),
“Il Minimo Sostenibile” (by Gino Finizio)
“Vincere con le idee” (by Enzo Baglieri, Gabriella Lojacono).
In his professional career Mauro has been granted 47 patents on his name.
ITALIANOMAURO PORCINI
Mauro Porcini entra in PepsiCo nel 2012 come primo Chief Design Officer nella storia della multinazionale americana. In questa posizione la missione di Mauro è quella di infondere nuova cultura progettuale all’interno dell’azienda a livello globale, disegnando le strategie di innovazione e design delle piattaforme di prodotto attuali e future e del vasto portfolio di brand della corporation, che include tra gli altri Pepsi, Lay’s, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Sodastream, Quaker, 7Up, Doritos, Lifewtr, Bubly, Aquafina, Cheetos, Mirinda. La sua responsabilità si estende a tutta le espressioni fisiche e virtuali dei brand, includendo prodotto, packaging, pubblicità, eventi, collaborazioni nel mondo della moda e dell’arte, attivazione nel retail, architettura e digital.
L’organizzazione creata da Mauro conta più di 400 creativi, basati nei 17 design center locati in ogni regione del mondo. Nel corso degli anni è stata premiata con più di 2.200 premi e riconoscimenti dal mondo del design e dell’innovazione, record assoluto nell’industria di riferimento. Nel 2018 PepsiCo è stata riconosciuta da Fortune nella lista delle 30 aziende Driven by Design.
Nella primavera del 2021 Mauro ha pubblicato il suo primo libro, in italiano: “L'Età dell'Eccellenza - Come Innovazione e Creatività Possono Costruire un Mondo Migliore”, edito da Il Saggiatore – ora alla sua quinta ristampa. Nell’autunno del 2022 ha pubblicato il suo primo libro in inglese, “The Human Side of Innovation. The Power of People in Love with People” (Berrett-Koehler), sui temi di innovazione, design e leadership. Nello stesso mese della sua pubblicazione, il libro ha ricevuto l’oro nella competizione Better Future – New York Design award. Nel 2023 ha pubblicato con il suo team in PepsiCo il libro “Good Design is for Everyone” (Rizzoli).
Prima di entrare in PepsiCo Mauro copriva la carica di Chief Design Officer nella multinazionale 3M, in Minnesota, in una posizione creata ad hoc per lui, dove la sua missione era quella di costruire e facilitare una cultura d’innovazione design driven in un’azienda storicamente fondata sulla pura innovazione tecnologica.
I suoi team, basati negli Stati Uniti, in Cina, in Giappone e in Italia, hanno vinto la maggior parte dei più prestigiosi premi di innovazione e design.
Mauro ha iniziato la sua carriera professionale in Philips Design ed ha poi creato la propria agenzia creativa, Wisemad SrL, con il noto produttore musicale Claudio Cecchetto. Il suo lavoro nell’ambito delle Wearable Technologies è stato oggetto di mostre al Louvre di Parigi e al Seoul Art Center.
Nell’arco degli anni ha fatto parte dei board of directors di svariate associazioni. Al momento è Presidente della Fondazione Americana del Politecnico di Milano (Fellows of Politecnico), siede nel board of directors del Design Management Institute, e in vari altri advisory council di istituzioni di design, arte, innovazione e business.
Dalla fine del 2019, Mauro conduce il proprio podcast “In your shoes - with Mauro Porcini” su Apple podcast, Spotify e YouTube, dove intervista personalità della comunità creativa internazionale.
Per anni è stato nel cast dei presentatori e giudici dei programmi televisivi “New York by Design” e “America by Design”, in onda su CBS e Amazon Prime Video.
Mauro è un amante della moda e ha una collezione di più di 350 paia di scarpe. Vive e risiede tra New York City e gli Hamptons, con la moglie Carlotta, con la loro figlia Beatrice e con i loro tre pomeranian, Leone, Bella e Lupo.
Premi e riconoscimenti
Una delle onorificenze più care a Mauro, conferitagli dal Presidente della Repubblica Italiana, è il titolo di Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia, un ordine cavalleresco per "meriti straordinari nella conservazione e promozione del prestigio nazionale all'estero, promuovendo relazioni amichevoli e cooperazione con altri paesi e legami con l'Italia".
Nell’arco degli anni Mauro è stato riconosciuto con numerosi altri premi e onorificenze nell’ambito del design e dell’innovazione.
Nell’estate del 2024 è entrato nell’ Albo d’Onore dell’Ordine degli Architetti della città di Varese.
Nel 2023 è stato inserito nella lista delle “100 persone più ispiranti del 2023” dalla rivista OOOM, insieme a una serie incredibile di noti leader e innovatori, in una varietà di campi diversi - dal presidente Joe Biden al Dalai Lama, da Oprah Winfrey a Greta Thunberg, dal presidente Volodymyr Zelenskyj al Papa Francesco, da Richard Branson a David Attenborough, and tanti altri.
Nello stesso anno, Mauro ha ricevuto l’ItalPress Award e il Business Care International Award, in New York City.
Nel 2022 è stato insignito dell'American Prize for Design dal Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design e dall'European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, un riconoscimento che onora uno specifico professionista del design con uno dei più alti riconoscimenti pubblici che promuove l'eccellenza del design e dell'innovazione.
Nel 2021 la piattaforma Innovation Leader di Boston lo ha riconosciuto nella sua lista dei “Top 25 Most Influential Innovators of 2020”.
Nel 2020 la Thomas Jefferson University di Philadelphia lo ha nominato “Innovatore dell’anno”.
Nello 2019 ha ricevuto il “Visionary Award” da Pentawards a Londra.
Nel 2018 ha ricevuto a New York City il DrivenXDesign “Chairman’s Better Future Award”, concesso a individui che “hanno incessantemente lavorato nell’ultimo decennio per creare un impatto e fare la differenza nel mondo”.
Nel 2016 la Camera di Commercio Italia America gli ha riconosciuto il “Business and Culture Award”, un premio che va ogni anno a un italiano che si sia distinto in modo straordinario in America a livello culturale e professionale e nello stesso anno ha ricevuto il “U.S. Design Brand Leader Award”.
Nel 2015 Il Giornale lo ha nominato come “Uno dei 10 Italiani che cambieranno il mondo” mentre GQ Italia lo ha inserito nella lista dei “30 uomini più eleganti del 2015”. Nel 2014 Fast Company lo ha incluso nella lista dei suoi “Most Creative People in Business 1000”, un gruppo diversificato di influenti personalità trasversali ad ogni categoria di business e provenienti da ogni parte del mondo ed è stato premiato con il “PrimiDieci – Under 40” award, un riconoscimento che celebra “gli straordinari successi professionali e personali di dieci Italiani in America ogni anno”.
Dal 2013 fa parte della comunità “Talenti italiani all’estero” dell’Aspen Institute Italia presieduto dal prof. Giulio Tremonti.
Nel 2012 Fortune Magazine lo ha riconosciuto tra i “40 under 40” - la classifica delle “business’s hottest rising stars” – unico designer nella lista, mentre la rivista Ad Age lo annoverato nella sua “Creativity 50” - la lista delle “personalità creative più influenti al mondo” – e il PoliMi del Politecnico di Milano lo ha premiato con l'Alumni Polimi Awards 2012 (area Creativity) per il “grande merito di contribuire ad arricchire l'italianità nel mondo”.
Nel 2011 Fast Company lo ha riconosciuto come uno dei “50 più influenti designers in America” e “Design Master” dell’anno mentre l’HR World Business Forum in Mumbai lo ha premiato con l’“Award for Leadership and Innovation”.
Il CFO Journal del Wall Street Journal nel 2011 lo ha nominato “l’uomo che ha piazzato 3M nella mappa del design mondiale” e sotto la sua leadership 3M è stata annoverata da Fast Company come una delle 30 aziende americane che “capisce il design”.
Il lavoro di Mauro è stato oggetto di multipli libri e articoli sul design e l’innovazione pubblicati in svariati paesi nel mondo. Tra gli altri
“Creative Confidence” (Tom Kelley and David Kelley),
“Harvard Business Review’s 10 Must Reads – On Design Thinking” (HBR),
“Harvard Business Review’s 10 Must Reads – The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from HBR – 2017” (HBR),
from Jugaad Innovation (Simon Ahuja, Navi Radjou, Jaydeep Prabhu),
“Il Minimo Sostenibile” (Gino Finizio),
“Vincere con le idee” (Enzo Baglieri, Gabriella Lojacono).
Nell’arco di questi anni Mauro ha accumulato 47 brevetti a suo nome.
