Supporters

Chairman of the Board

Rob Pew is former President of Steelcase North America. He is currently
Chairman of the Board of Steelcase Inc. Rob is owner and manager of Cane Creek Farm, a hunter/jumper horse training facility. He spends his spare time skiing and fishing. He is also involved in equestrian-related development in Asheville, North Carolina.

President, Blaich Associates

Prior to establishing Blaich Associates in 1992, Bob served for 12 years as the Senior Director of Corporate Design for Philips Electronics, the global electronics company headquartered in the Netherlands. He was responsible for the management of all product design, packaging and corporate identity for the company's broad range of consumer and professional electronic products and systems. He introduced design management as a strategic tool for integrating design into the production and marketing process and is credited with enhancing the profession's effectiveness and position within the company.

Before joining Philips Electronics, Bob was the Vice President of Design and Corporate Communications for Herman Miller Inc., the internationally famous manufacturer of furniture systems.

In 1992, he became the fifth recipient of the prestigious Worldesign Medal awarded by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) for "outstanding contributions to the industrial design profession on a global basis."€� Bob was awarded a Doctor of Fine Arts honorary degree in 1990 by Syracuse University.

Grace Colby is a designer, technologist, and high tech entrepreneur. She was a cofounder of Art Technology Group where, as Vice President of Design, she established its 30-person design department. Ms. Colby's design work has been awarded by ID Magazine, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Print Magazine, and the ID Forty. Her technical research has been published in SIGGRAPH, CHI, and SPIE proceedings.

Ms. Colby received her B.S. from the IIT Institute of Design in 1985 and her M.S. from the MIT Media Laboratory in 1992. She has been a visiting
researcher at the Netherlands Design Institute and the MIT Media Laboratory. Ms. Colby is currently a business advisor to International Fashion Machines and a board member of the Boston Cyberarts Festival.

Chris Edwards is on the faculty of the IIT Institute of Design and Yale University, where he teaches graduate-level courses in computational media design. In addition to teaching, he provides design and technology consulting services to national and international companies. Prior to this, he was vice president of design at Art Technology Group (ATG).

Chris holds a BFA in design from the University of Michigan, and a Master's degree in human-centered communication design from the Institute of Design. His graduate work focused on user-centered design methodologies to aid in the design of complex, network-based applications.

His award-winning interactive work has been featured in ID Magazine, Wired, Communication Arts, Screen Multimedia, and The Economist. He is a past vice president on the board of the Boston chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), and has spoken widely on design for organizations such as the American Center for Design (ACD), AIGA, Seybold, MIT Media Lab, and the Art Institute of Boston.

Managing Partner, Product Development Workshop; founder, OXO International and Copco

Sam Farber graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1946 with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 1960 he founded COPCO, a housewares company known for its well designed, colorful cookware and tea kettles. In 1990 he founded OXO International, now a leader in the manufacture of kitchen tools with innovative user-centered designs. OXO was sold to General Housewares Corporation in 1992, and Sam retired from active management in 1995. He continues to work with General Housewares Corporation as a consultant for product development and marketing.

Sam has lectured on design and mentored design programs at graduate business schools such as Harvard, M.I.T., Babson and Carnegie Mellon. In addition to serving on ID's Board of Overseers, he is a member of the Entrepreneurial Advisory Board at Babson Graduate School of Business, a director of the Corporate Design Foundation, a director of Raw Vision magazine and a trustee of the Museum of American Folk Art.

Vice President of Product Architecture, Pulsent Corporation.

Pulsent is a start-up company focused on the low-cost delivery of broadcast quality video over the Internet using newly developed, proprietary compression technologies.

Previously, Marc was Vice President and Chief Scientist at Silicon Graphics, which he co-founded in 1981. Marc received his master's and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University, where he worked with Dr. James Clark on graphics architectures that formed the core of the Silicon Graphics' first products. He received his bachelor' degree from IIT in electrical engineering.

President and Managing Director, MetaDesign

Bill Hill is president and founder of MetaDesign San Francisco. Building on his background in graphic design, he focuses on building identity and corporate communication systems for global businesses. Utilizing fundamentals of human centered design, he has led projects for clients including Eli Lilly, Palm, Adobe, Sony, Ernst & Young, HP/Agilent, and The Ocean Conservancy. Prior to founding MetaDesign San Francisco, Bill was director of graphic design at IDEO Product Development.

President, Doblin Inc.

Larry Keeley is a strategist who has focused on creating more effective innovation methods for over twenty years. Larry is president and co-founder of Doblin Inc, an innovation strategy firm known for pioneering comprehensive innovation systems that materially improve innovation success rates.

Since 1979, Keeley has worked with many global companies on innovation effectiveness, among them Aetna, American Express, Amoco, Apple, Citigroup, Consignia, Diageo, Hallmark, McDonald's, Monsanto, Motorola, Pfizer, Shell, Steelcase, Texas Instruments, WellPoint, Whirlpool, and Zurich Financial Services. He lectures frequently and publishes regularly on strategic aspects of innovation.

Keeley teaches graduate innovation strategy classes at the IIT Institute of Design, and lectures at executive education programs at Kellogg Graduate School of Management and in their Masters of Manufacturing Management program, plus in the University of Chicago MBA program. Keeley was a Senior Fellow of the Center for Business Innovation in Boston. He is also a board member for WBEZ-FM, Chicago's public radio station, where he has charted strategy for what has become the most innovative public station in the public radio network in the US.

Chairman and CEO, Gold Peak Industries

Mr. Victor Lo is the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Gold Peak Industries (Holdings) Limited, a Hong Kong-listed Asian multinational group with a portfolio of industrial and technology investments in the electrical and electronics industries. Gold Peak has 3 companies: GP Industries Limited, GP Batteries International Limited and CIH Limited listed in Singapore. The Group has manufacturing, R&D, marketing and distribution operations in more than ten countries around the world and employs over 15,000 people worldwide.

Mr. Lo is Chairman of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Chairman of Board of Governors of Hong Kong Design Centre and Chairman of the Council of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is also a member of the Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology, a Council Member of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and a member of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee. He was Chairman of Federation of Hong Kong Industries from July 2001 to July 2003. Mr. Lo received a B.S. from the IIT Institute of Design in 1973.

Chairman, Valor Equity Partners

Mr. Morgenstern serves as Valor’s Chairman. He is involved in investment prospect generation, investment selection, capital raising, and portfolio company management. He serves on the Board of Directors of Astral Brands, Inc. and Plastag Holdings, LLC.

Mr. Morgenstern’s professional background includes 40 years of value investing experience. He was one of the founding principals of Harris Associates (“Harris”) in 1976, and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer from 1992 – 1998 and as Chairman from 1996 – 2000. He was also President and later Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Harris Associates Investment Trust, The Oakmark Family of Funds (“Oakmark”). Mr. Morgenstern retired as Chairman of Oakmark in 2003. Harris is a Chicago-based investment advisory firm with institutional, private client, and multi-manager product offerings. At the time of Mr. Morgenstern’s retirement from Oakmark in 2003, Harris managed in excess of $40 billion in equities including over $20 billion in the seven fund series of funds comprising Oakmark.

In 1995, Harris was acquired by NVEST, a NYSE listed investment management firm that managed approximately $120 billion in public and private funds in equity, debt, and real estate asset classes through subsidiary management firms. Mr. Morgenstern was a Director of NVEST from 1996 – 2000, at which point CDC IXIS Asset Management acquired NVEST. Prior to his entry into the investment business, Mr. Morgenstern was admitted to the Maryland and District of Columbia Bars and the CCPA as a patent attorney.

Mr. Morgenstern is Managing Partner of Resolute Partners, a private family investment partnership, and has been an active investor in private start-up companies for 31 years. Mr. Morgenstern is currently a Director of BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. His experience includes investments in several private equity funds, including both early-stage venture capital and buyout funds. He has made direct equity investments in 18 private equity companies during the past 40 years.

Mr. Morgenstern founded the Morgenstern Family Foundation, which is actively involved in Chicago area charitable activities. He is a Trustee of the Illinois Institute of Technology and member and past Chair of the Board of Overseers of its School of Architecture. Mr. Morgenstern holds a J.D. from American University Law School and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology.

Chairman, Molto Capital Inc.

Vincent A. Naccarato is Chairman of Molto Capital Inc. Formerly Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wilton Industries, Mr. Naccarato serves on the board of overseers for the IIT Institute of Design; Business Advisory Council at the University of Illinois; board of directors at The DuPage Community Foundation and the national board of directors for the American Institute of Wine and Food. Mr. Naccarato also serves on the board of trustees for Iowa Wesleyan College, past chairman of the International Housewares Manufacturers Association, and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

Chairman, RTC Industries

Walter Nathan is Chairman of RTC Industries, which he founded in 1950. This global company designs and produces point-of-sale displays and merchandising equipment.

Walter has served on the ID Board of Overseers for 9 years and completed a 3-year term as its Chairman in 2003. During his years in industry, he has been a member of the Board of several trade associations. He is also the founder of the Pilsen Industrial Council, Board Member of his Temple, and a member of the National Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee.

Walter received his Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT in 1944. Walter is married to Ann Nathan, founder of Ann Nathan Gallery in Chicago. They have 4 children and 12 grandchildren. His personal interests include sailing, tennis, Institute of Design, amateur economics and travel.

President, Kaigai Fine Wines Ltd.

Mutsuo Okabayashi graduated from the Institute of Design with a B.S. degree in Industrial Design in 1959. During his active 25 years at the helm of Design Corporation/Japan, Inc. as the President and later as Chairman, he was responsible for many design projects, starting as Associate Producer and Design Director for the Sumitomo Pavilion at the Expo '70 Osaka. Later he was responsible for the Japanese Government's participation at the Spokane Expo in 1974 and the Vancouver Expo in 1986, as well as the handling of most of Toyota Motor Company's domestic and international dealership facilities construction program, and most of Toyota's participation in domestic and international Motor Shows.

He served as the Far East Design Representative for Philco-Ford and the GTE Corp. between 1974 and 1983, responsible for overseeing design quality programs for the company in the Far East Region.

In 1997, he sold his controlling interest in Design Corporation/Japan to Toyota Motor Company, retaining the title of Director and Advisor. In June 2004 he became an Honorary Advisor to the company.

Whereas his other major interest was vintage wine, he established a fine wine merchant, Kaigai Shuhan KK, in 1991. It is a specialist importer/wholesaler and auctioneer of fine and rare old wines featuring some very rare 1700's, 1800's and mostly pre-1980's French, Italian, Spanish and some American wines.

Chairman, C-SAM, Inc.; Chairman and CEO of World-Tel Ltd.

Mr. Pitroda came to the USA in 1964, after receiving an advance degree in Physics from India. He studied Electrical Engineering at IIT in Chicago, worked at GTE and formed Wescom Switching, Inc. In 1980, Wescom was acquired by Rockwell International, where Mr. Pitroda became Vice President, overseeing Rockwell's Telecom business world-wide; he held this position until 1983.

In 1984, Mr. Pitroda returned to India and founded the Center for Development of Telematics. In 1987, he became advisor to the Prime Minister of India, with the rank of a Minister, on National Technology Missions related to Drinking Water, Literacy, Immunization, Oil Seeds, Milk and Telecom. Mr. Pitroda was the first founding Chairman of the Telecom Commission in India, responsible for National and International Telecom operations, policies and administration, with over 500,000 employees.

Currently, Mr. Pitroda is the Chairman and CEO of World-Tel Limited, an International Telecom Union (ITU) initiative to build telecommunications infrastructure in emerging markets. He is also the Chairman and Founder of several high-technology start-up companies in the US, Europe and India. Mr. Pitroda is also the founding Chairman of a non-profit Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions in India.