This Is A Prototype: S1•E9 Ann Willoughby & Mauro Porcini (plus State of Black Design Conference)

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This Is A Prototype

Doug Powell

24 episodes

1 month ago

We are in the midst of an unprecedented time in the history of the design profession. Businesses are investing in design at rates never before seen—building scaled design teams of hundreds and even thousands of designers, and hiring design leaders into executive roles giving them influence and access at the highest levels.

As an executive design leader myself, I’m fascinated by the experience of designers moving into these new leadership roles. For most of us this is completely uncharted territory, the jobs are often undefined and there is rarely a roadmap or playbook to help us succeed, so most of us have had to learn on the job.

In each episode of This is a Prototype, I invite two design leaders who have traveled very different life and career journeys to share their stories, compare notes, and talk about what it takes to be a leader in this new era of design.

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This Is A Prototype: S1•E9 Ann Willoughby & Mauro Porcini (plus State of Black Design Conference)

This Is A Prototype

54 minutes

1 year ago

This Is A Prototype: S1•E9 Ann Willoughby & Mauro Porcini (plus State of Black Design Conference)

My guests in this episode are two legendary design leaders, Ann Willoughby and Mauro Porcini.

Ann Willoughby is an AIGA Medalist who has been a leading voice in design for over five decades. In 1978 she founded Willoughby Design, one of the first woman-owned design firms in the US. In addition to her leadership of this award-winning firm, Ann has been an advocate for countless community organizations and academic programs throughout her career.

Mauro Porcini is the first-ever Chief Design Officer of PepsiCo where he is infusing design thinking into the company’s culture and leading a new approach to innovation by design that is impacting it’s vast portfolio of products and brands. Mauro is also the author of the book The Human Side of Innovation: The Power of People in Love with People.

We cover a remarkably wide breadth of topics from the important role leaders play in the building of company culture, to how designers respond to emerging technologies. Ann and Mauro share some delightful and inspiring stories about the people who have shaped their journeys as leaders.

I open the episode with a special bonus segment: A short clip of a conversation I had recently with Professor Omari Souza, founder of the State of Black Design conference, which is happening for the first time ever as a live, in-person event March 15-16 in Nashville, Tennessee.