Roberto Verganti

Roberto Verganti is recognized for his expertise in design-driven innovation and leadership. Verganti holds the Josefsson Family Chair in Art and Innovation at the Stockholm School of Economics, where he directs the Center for Art and Innovation. He is also a faculty member at Harvard Business School, teaching design theory and practice for the MS/MBA program conducted jointly with the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Verganti co-founded Leadin'Lab, the laboratory on leadership, design, and innovation at the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano.

Verganti's research centers on the creation of meaning in products and services, focusing on how organizations can develop offerings that resonate with both businesses and society. His work operates at the intersection of strategy, design, and technology management. At Politecnico di Milano, Verganti founded and served as the first director of the School of Doctoral Programs and the Alta Scuola Politecnica, a multidisciplinary innovation school for master's students. He serves as 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.

Verganti is the author of two books on innovation. "Design-Driven Innovation: Changing the Rules of Competition by Radically Innovating What Things Mean," published by Harvard Business Press, presents a theory of strategy and innovation, examining how companies such as Apple, Alessi, and Nintendo create innovations that generate strong user engagement. "Design-Driven Innovation" has been recognized by BusinessWeek and the Academy of Management and has been translated into several languages. His subsequent book, "Overcrowded: Designing Meaningful Products in a World Awash with Ideas," published by MIT Press, outlines processes and methods for achieving breakthrough transformations in product design.

Verganti has published more than 150 articles in scientific journals, including Management Science, Research Policy, and Journal of Product Innovation Management, where he received the Albert Page Best Paper Award for the article "Innovation and Design in the Age of Artificial Intelligence." He has contributed extensively to Harvard Business Review, with articles such as "Innovating Through Design," "Which Kind of Collaboration is Right for You," "Designing Breakthrough Products," and "The Innovative Power of Criticism." Verganti is a member of the Hall of Fame of the Journal of Product Innovation Management and serves as an associate editor.

Verganti's research on design management and design clusters has been recognized with the Compasso d'Oro, a prominent design award in Italy. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes, and BusinessWeek. Verganti has advised executives and senior managers at a range of manufacturing and service firms, including Ferrari, Ducati, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Gucci, Samsung, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, and L'Oréal.