Maeda Presents to World Leaders

Today is Day 1 of the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) and President John Maeda is just arriving in Davos, Switzerland to participate – after first presenting at the DLD (Digital-Life-Design) 13 conference in Munich, Germany this morning.  

At DLD President Maeda engaged in open conversation with RISD trustee and Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia 05 GD/ID. As Joe tweeted with this photo after the event, the dynamic duo talked about “cups and design thinking” in the context of chatting about why design really matters.

Yesterday in Munich, Maeda also presented renowned architect Zaha Hadid with the Aenne Burda Award.

Architect Zaha Hadid

In Davos President Maeda will participate in four sessions:

· Design, Data and Decisions (a solo presentation on the power of design to help leaders navigate competing priorities, agendas and relationships)

· STEM + Art = STEAM (a panel discussion on why science and technology need the creative input of art and design to truly unleash entrepreneurial innovation)

· Is Data for Mining or Whining? (a discussion with the International Media Council)

· The New Aesthetics of Leadership (a session focused on insights from design that can make for better leadership practices in today’s hyper-connected world)

Today actress Charlize Theron received the Crystal Award at WEF for her work with Africa Outreach