2018 EMCEES

Debbie Millman

Named “one of the most creative people in business” by Fast Company, and “one of the most influential designers working today” by Graphic Design USA, Debbie Millman is also an author, educator and curator. As the founder and host of Design Matters, one of the world’s first and longest-running podcasts, Millman has interviewed over 400 artists, designers and cultural commentators, including Marina Abramovic, Thomas Kail, Laurie Anderson, Milton Glaser, Malcolm Gladwell, Shepard Fairey, Barbara Kruger, Amanda Palmer, Alain de Botton and many more. In the 13 years since its inception, the show has garnered over a five-million-downloads per year. Design Matters won a 2011 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, in 2015 Apple designated it one of the best overall podcasts on iTunes, and in 2018 the show was honored by the Webby’s. In addition, Design Matters has been listed on over 100 “Best Podcasts” lists, including one of the best podcasts in the world by Business Insider.

John Maeda

John Maeda is an American executive, designer, technologist and a product manager-in-training. He recently joined Automattic as Global Head of Computational Design + Inclusion, and previously served as Partner at Kleiner Perkins. An internationally recognized speaker and author, his books include The Laws of Simplicity, Creative Code and Redesigning Leadership. Maeda’s work explores the area where business, design and technology merge—with his findings shared annually in the Design in Tech Report at SXSW. He serves on the Board of Directors for Sonos and the global advertising firm Wieden+Kennedy. Maeda is also a member of the Technical Advisory Board for Google’s Advanced Technology + Projects Group. He facilitated the advancement of eBay’s design culture at scale—becoming a Stanford GSB case study on change management. Prior to his work in industry, Maeda was a tenured research professor at the MIT Media Laboratory and the 16th President of the RISD.