Paul Bennett
Paul Bennett is Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer of IDEO. During his tenure, Paul has contributed greatly to our evolution as a company. His achievements include: creating our largest global practice, Consumer Experience Design; helping to establish our presence in China; and co-founding the New York office. Paul is currently based in London, where his focus is working with colleagues, clients, and partners to bring to market commercially viable, socially significant new businesses and consumer products, services, and experiences. He is responsible for company-wide content excellence, and he actively develops ideas (and publishes articles) related to the field of human-centered, design-led innovation.
Paul thus is a sought-after writer and speaker. His thought leadership has been featured in The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Sunday Times (London), BusinessWeek, Fast Company, BBC Radio 4, Marketing Week, Brand Week, Ad Age, and myriad blogs and websites. He is an ambassador of the C&binet, a nonprofit network founded by the U.K. government that’s charged with linking the international creative and business communities, demonstrating the economic power of creativity, and helping to shape the world’s creative economy. Paul is frequently invited to address high-profile events, such as The World Economic Forum, TED Global, The AOL CEO Conference, American Express Luxury Summit, and Tokyo Midtown Opening.
A deft educator, Paul has taught and coached students enrolled in Columbia Business School, Stanford University, the Royal College of Art, the Capstone Project, and the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. Prior to joining IDEO in 2001, Paul co-founded the pioneering brand-design business nickandpaul, in New York, where his clients included Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Co., Johnson & Johnson, and Unilever.
Topics Paul speaks on:
- Branded Experiences
- Consumer Experience Design
- Design Thinking
- Entertainment & Media
Speaking engagements:
November 2009, "How could luxury brands get better at innovation?" Luxury Briefing, London, UK, keynote
October 2009, "What is YOUR dream for Dubai?" TEDx Dubai (Watch a video of the talk here)
May 2008, Interviewed on Survival of the Fastest, YouTube in partnership with London Business School, the Daily Telegraph and Google.
View the video clips here:
“The importance of asking the right questions”
“What will winning organisations look like in 18 months' time?”
“How do business leaders prepare for the upturn?”
May 2009, Interviewed by Egill Helgason, the host of the Icelandic TV show "Silfur Egils," RÚV TV
View the interview in three parts: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3
April 2009, "Thoughtless Communication Relinquishing Control," ADC Kongress Summit, Berlin
November 2007, workshop host, IDEA Conference
November 2006, IDEA Conference
July 2005, “Small Matters,” TEDGlobal
June 2005, “Improving the Customer Experience,” Retail Forum
June 2005, “Innovating with Diversity,” Copenhagen Business School
Published works:
December 2009, “The Biggest Idea Might be Learning to Think Small,” Financial Times
December 2008, "Creativity and the Rise of Optimism," C&binet
March 2008, “Lessons from Sao Paulo’s Streets: How vandals, savers, cyclists, and salarymen are informing the design process,” Adweek.com
June 2007, “When Fact Trumps Fiction,” Adage.com
April 2007, Paul Bennett: Design is in the Details, TEDTalks
December 2006, “Most Memorable Ads of 2006,” Businessweek.com
December 2006, “The Era of the Personal Ad,” Businessweek.com
June 2006, “Time for Some Buzz-Kill,” Businessweek.com
May 2006, Q&A about the value of creating emotional connections in design, design-emotion.com
February 2005, Quoted in “Breakthrough Ideas,” Harvard Business Review