Electrolux Appoints Stefano Marzano to New Role of Chief Design Officer

Electrolux selected Stefano Marzano, IDSA as its new chief design officer, a new role at Electrolux leading all design-related competencies in the group. The changes enable Electrolux to increase the relevance and speed with which innovative solutions are brought to market.

A key in the Electrolux strategy is to continue to develop innovative and thoughtfully designed solutions based on end-user insight. With Marzano as the new chief design officer, Electrolux now has in place the formal structure for its product development, referred to as its Innovation Triangle. The Innovation Triangle puts research and development, marketing and design functions in synergy during the entire creation process, with a clear focus on the customers and consumers.

"Stefano Marzano is one of the most regarded and prominent design leaders in business today, and I am both pleased and proud to have him on my team. Appointing the first chief design officer in the Group’s history proves the priority Electrolux gives to design as a core function in innovation together with R&D and marketing. Electrolux has come very far in the transition from a manufacturing-driven company to a modern consumer insight-driven company. Mr. Marzano’s experience and well-documented creativity will further enhance this development," says Keith McLoughlin, president and CEO of Electrolux.

Stefano Marzano, born 1950, has had a long career at Royal Philips Electronics, for the past 20 years as chief design officer. Until 1998 he was a professor at the Domus Academy in Milan. From 1999 to 2001 he was a visiting professor at the Polytechnic Institute in Milan, Politecnico di Milano. Marzano is also the author and editor of several books on design.

Marzano is a member of the European Design Leadership Board as well as advisory councils in design schools around the world. He is chairman of the Advisory Board of the Industrial Design faculty of the Technical University of Eindhoven and founding dean of THNK, The Amsterdam School of Creative Leadership. He has received honorary doctorates in design from the Sapienza University of Rome and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In 2005, Businessweek named him one of four global "Best Leaders: Innovators." In 2001, the World Technology Network awarded him the World Technology Award for Design.

More information about Stefano Marzano, Electrolux and design can be found at www.electrolux.com/design. A video message from Marzano is also to be found there.