John Foster
John is head of talent and organization for IDEO, which includes leading our Human Resources function and applying the IDEO design process internally to help the firm stay at the leading edge of design and innovation consulting.
He joined IDEO in 2005 to take on this unusual role and lead internal improvement projects. He came to IDEO with a background in Organization Development, Leadership Development, and Instructional Design, having served in senior leadership roles at Fidelity Investments, Levi Strauss, and Mercury Interactive (now part of HP). Prior to his internal corporate roles, he was a leadership and team-building facilitator for Pecos River Learning Centers, where he worked with dozens of Fortune 500 companies including Citibank, Microsoft, Merck, and the U.S. Postal Service.
John earned a Master’s in Education from Colorado State University and holds a twin B.A. in Psychology and Communications from Miami University.
Topics John speaks on:
- Design Thinking
- Education
- Health & Wellness
- Innovation Strategy
- Organizational Transformation
Speaking engagements:
July 2010, “Leading Innovation,” YMCA General Assembly, Salt Lake City, UT, keynote
October 2009, “Leading Innovation,” HR Strategy Forum, San Francisco & Los Angeles, CA, keynote
April 2009, “Organizing for Innovation,” Mattel Leading Edge Conference, Huntington Beach, CA, featured presenter
February 2009, “Design for Program Innovation,” YMCA National Program Design Expo, Jacksonville, FL, keynote
April 2008, “Organizing for Innovation,” ITSG Silicon Valley Conference, Mountain View, CA, keynote
November 2007, “Design for Social Impact,” Civic Ventures National Fellows Summit, Palo Alto, CA, keynote
November 2007,“Enabling Creativity in Organizations,” Saybrook Graduate School, San Francisco, CA, keynote
May 2007, “Design for Social Impact,” UJC Professional Leadership Summit, Miami, FL, keynote
March 2007, “Designing Workplace Engagement,” Harvard Learning Innovations Lab, Cambridge, MA, featured presenter
Published works:
JFK Blog: Playing at the intersection of people and organizations