Industry Experts: ​Imparting ​Real-World Skills

The UCR Extension Design Thinking Executive Program instructors are not only noted authors and C-Level executives in the Design Thinking space, but expert thought leaders who work in the industry. You’ll receive their first-hand skills and practical knowledge, along with new strategies and innovative methodologies to transform your business to a more human-centered approach.

Holly O'Driscoll

Chair
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Holly is an industry expert in the field of Design Thinking and human centered innovation with more than 20 years of professional experience. As Global Design Thinking Leader at Procter & Gamble, she's programmed and facilitated more than 200 Design Thinking experiences by problem framing, applying Design Thinking to organization design and strategy, and creating conditions that allow human creativity and curiosity to thrive. She is the founder and CEO of Ampersand Innovation, LLC; a human-centered innovation and strategy consultancy focused on unleashing the potential of people, ideas, and organizations. 

Holly is the author of Why Design Thinking Is Good Business Thinking, where she explains that relentless focus on customer experience, continuous iteration, and empathy are the hallmarks of today's most successful businesses.​

Roger Mader

Founding Partner at AMPERSAND.vc

As co-founder of AMPERSAND, Roger works with senior executives to unlock the potential of their most important companies - to redeploy their assets to a higher return - producing uncommon growth by uncommon means. He serves as an enterprise market partner for Quid, a breakthrough big data analytics platform, culling insights from the world’s intelligence hidden in vast digital reams of language. Early on, he was part of the launch teams for the IBM Personal Computer and first generation of Accenture’s Change Management practice. He co-founded VIA International and built a global growth strategy, organization design and change management consultancy. He guided strategy and new service design for EY, and formulated business strategy and design for Giuliani Partners, the private firm of former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani. He led key global accounts for EY’s New York Office and served as SVP Global Accounts in the consulting practice for Business Objects (now SAP). He also led global accounts for design strategy firm Doblin/Monitor Group (now Deloitte), commercial strategy for innovation agency Fahrenheit 212 (now Cap Gemini).

You can read Roger’s mind at rogermader.com.

Tony  Bynum

Owner, Chief Innovation Catalyst, NineDotSquare Strategy & Consulting LLC

For over 25 years Tony has worked with organizations to identify and create opportunities for growth and innovation that focus on delivering differentiation and advantage through new products, services and experiences. Tony is currently Owner and President of NineDotSquare, a growth an innovation strategy consultancy, where he serves as Chief Innovation Catalyst. In this role, Tony partners with clients to help them identify new opportunities for differentiated growth through the innovation of new products, services and experiences.

Driven by a natural curiosity and appetite for learning, Tony sees the world through a "wide-angle lens" allowing him to identify non-obvious patterns and insights. Trained in User-Centered Innovation & Design Planning at IIT’s Institute of Design in Chicago, Tony helps organizations apply the principles and methods of Design Thinking to translate insights into desirable, viable and feasible products, services and experiences that deliver competitive advantage and market differentiation.

Tony holds Master's Degrees in Design Thinking and Innovation Planning from IIT's Institute of Design and an MBA from the Lake Forest Graduate School. Additionally, Tony has completed Master's coursework in Organizational Psychology & Development at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Kelly Costello

CEO at Panorama Innovation, LLC
Partner at Ampersand Innovation, LLC

At Panorama, Kelly helps companies create innovative products and services through a deeper understanding of people and the future. She transforms real-life needs, desires and motivations, guides the design process, and creates meaningful solutions. She has over 20 years of experience in managing and conducting qualitative and quantitative research, with specific focus on leveraging research for innovation design. With a background in cultural anthropology and visual media, she is proficient in research and communication, and has consulted with many industries: financial services, manufacturing, CPG, healthcare, utilities, computer hardware, software, and pharmaceuticals.