Chris Flink
Chris, a Partner at IDEO, heads its largest practice, Consumer Experience Design, in the eastern United States. He believes that innovation is a team sport. After more than a dozen years with IDEO, he remains in awe of his insanely talented colleagues and continues to revel in good, daunting interdisciplinary challenges. At IDEO, Chris has steered relationships and diverse programs in collaboration with such clients as Target, Motorola, P&G, Palm/Handspring, OXO, PepsiCo, and Apple. With an approach that integrates design, engineering, and business perspectives, he has helped companies realize growth opportunities, shape strategy, and bring a broad range of consumer products to market.
Chris holds a master’s degree in management and a bachelor’s in engineering/product design from Stanford University, where he was awarded the Chilton Memorial Prize for excellence in product design. He’s now a Consulting Associate Professor at Stanford, where he has taught courses on innovation and has served on the strategy board of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, or d.school, since its inception. He has also delivered guest lectures at Wharton and Columbia business schools and presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
After an inspired decade of bouncing between IDEO’s San Francisco and Palo Alto studios in California, Chris moved Boston and then to New York, where he co-founded our Manhattan office. Outside of work, he adores spending time with his charming wife and their two remarkably advanced little girls.
Topics Chris speaks on:
- Consumer Experience Design
- Design Thinking
- Human-Centered Design
- Innovation Strategy