About
Brendan, a Partner at IDEO, passionately promotes entrepreneurial thinking and doing at all of our locations worldwide. Throughout his career, Brendan has invented and licensed more than 150 consumer products, specializing in the design of kid-centric goods, services, and experiences. His background and interests led him to start Skyline, a toy-development company that was acquired by IDEO and ultimately became our Toy Lab. He also coauthored The Klutz Book of Inventions.
Beyond IDEO, Brendan works as a consulting associate professor at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the d.school), where he teaches “From Play to Innovation,” a course he created, and was named the Knight Favorite Professor. He serves on the board of the National Institute for Play, a nonprofit committed to bringing the knowledge, practices, and benefits of play into public life. Brendan holds a master’s degree from the Joint Program for Design at Stanford and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State. He loves to run, hike, kite surf (with no wind), and play speed golf.
Speaking Highlights
Speaking Topics
Design Thinking and Doing
Failing Often to Succeed Faster
Idea Generation
