Roberto Verganti is a Professor at the House of Innovation of the Stockholm School of Economics, where he holds the Josefsson Family Chair in Art and Innovation and directs the Center for Art and Innovation.

He is also a Visiting Lecturer at the Harvard Business School, where he teaches Design Theory and Practice. He is a co-founder of Leadin’Lab, the laboratory on the LEAdership, Design and Innovation at the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano. Roberto is an Ambassador of the European Innovation Council, at the European Commission and holds an Honorary Doctorate in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Vaasa.

Roberto’s research focuses on the creation of meaning: how to create things that people “love” and that are “meaningful” for businesses and society? He explores how leaders and organizations generate radically new visions, and make those visions come real. His most recent studies focus the interplay between art and innovation: How can art help leaders develop a deeper understanding of what meaningfulness is in a changing world? 

His research Roberto therefore lies at the intersection between leadership and innovation, technology and art. He combines methodologies of in-depth analysis of cases with experimentations with pioneering firms, in a variety of industries and contexts. He is currently exploring in depth how technological transitions are changing the creative processes and industry of music. 

Roberto is the author of “Overcrowded. Designing Meaningful Products in a World Awash with Ideas”, published by MIT Press in 2017, where he provides processes and methods to create breakthrough transformations. He is also the author of “Design-Driven Innovation: Changing the Rules of Competition by Radically Innovating what Things Mean”, published by Harvard Business Press in 2009, which has been selected by BusinessWeek as one of the Best Design an Innovation Books, and by the Academy of Management for the George R. Terry Book Award as one of the best 6 management books published in 2008 and 2009. It has been translated in 8 languages. His research on management of design and design clusters has been awarded the Compasso d'Oro (the most prestigious design award in Italy). 

Roberto has issued more than 150 articles, published on journals such as the Harvard Business Review, Management Science, Research Policy, and the Journal of Product Innovation Management (from which he received the 2020 Albert Page Best Paper Award to the article “Innovation and Design in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” and where he acts today as an Associate Editor). He has been featured on The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes, BusinessWeek. 

Roberto, together with his team of likeminded researchers-consultants, has served as advisor to executives and senior managers at a wide variety of manufacturing and service firms including Ferrari, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Gucci, Bosch, Samsung, STMicroelectronics, Zappos, Microsoft, Johnson&Johnson, Nestlè, EQT, 3M, ARUP, NTT, Deloitte, PwC. He has also helped national and regional governments around the world to conceive design and innovation policies. 

(More info at www.verganti.com)