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Biography
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Maureen Thurston
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Maureen Thurston
Design Leverage Consultant, Second Road, Pty. Ltd. (Australia)
A consultant, educator, entrepreneur, lecturer and author, Maureen began her industrial design career by combining design with business development responsibilities for her first employer in 1980. In 1987, she founded ACCESS International, the first brokerage for product design and development in the United States. ACCESS ultimately evolved into a Design Leverage® consultancy, counseling executive management on the strategic deployment of design as a catalyst to unlock innovation, creativity and top-line growth.
Formerly an Adjunct Associate Professor in Design Management and Leadership at Art Center College of Design, Maureen created this dynamic curriculum and was recognized by her students in 2003 with the Art Center Great Teacher Award. In 2005, she led the first international educational exchange between California-based Art Center College and INSEAD, a top-ranked business school with campuses in France and Singapore. This ongoing program continues to advance design’s aggregate value within the MBA mindset, while exposing Art Center students to the quantitative drivers of business. Beyond consulting and education, Maureen has also designed, developed, patented, and commercialized a line of houseware products that sold through retail and catalog channels.
She serves on the Advisory Boards for the Design Management Institute. In 1992 she chaired the IDSA WorldDesign Conference; co-chaired the Hardware Track for PDMA’s 2001 Creating the Future Conference, and was invited to judge the International Housewares Show Design Competition in 2005 and 2006. She was honored to be one of three judges for the 115th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. In the early 90’s, she co-chaired the National Design Council representing the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) in promoting the first federally designated US Design Council, including lobbying Congress and the U.S. Department of Commerce for legislative support/sponsorship. A guest lecturer both domestically and internationally, she has also authored several articles published in select professional journals.
From the beginning of her professional career in 1980, Maureen has vigorously engaged in bridging the gap between the disciplines of design and business. In 2007, she joined management consultant firm Second Road, Sydney Australia; in this new environment ‘business’ itself has become the object of design. The adventure continues...
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