Claudia Kotchka: "Making Design Thinking Work"

Claudia Kotchka is a senior executive and change agent who successfully led an innovation culture transformation at Procter & Gamble. A pioneer in innovation practices, she is acknowledged for strategic thinking, organization development, and financial acumen. Currently, Claudia advises Fortune 500 companies on innovation, design, and culture change. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry, and serves on the Board’s Strategic Planning Committee. Claudia retired from P&G in 2009, completing a milestone-filled 31-year career. While at P&G, she led the growth of the Design Organization from 30 to more than 300, creating world-class design capability. In recognition of her leadership, innovation, and management expertise, Claudia has received numerous awards, including her selection by BusinessWeek as one of the 25 most innovative global business leaders in 2006 and as one of five executives selected by Fast Company as a Master of Design in 2005. Her success as an innovator and change agent has been featured in The Game-Changer by A.G. Lafley and Ram Charan, The Ten Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley, The Design of Business by Roger Martin, and Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation by Tim Brown. Her accomplishments have also been reported in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Fast Company, AdWeek, Business Management, Design Management Review, Epoca Negocios Magazíne, The Financial Times, The Globe & Mail, The Journal of Business & Design, La Tribune, Women’s Wear Daily, and on the TODAY SHOW. Claudia is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Smithsonian Design Museum at the Cooper-Hewitt in New York City. She is an advisor to the Stanford University Institute of Design (the d.school) and served as a juror for the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards sponsored by the Industrial Designers Society of America.