Karthika Suresh Kumar believes design is not a solo act. The best work happens when everyone at the table gets to think out loud, when collaboration and difference sharpen an idea until it holds up in the real world.
That conviction shapes how she leads. As Chair of the Women in Design National Committee at IDSA, after leading its Northeast and Midwest efforts, her stance is simple: Women in Design is not only for women. It is for everyone. She has worked to widen the tent, welcoming nonbinary designers, underrepresented communities, and allies, and opening it across disciplines, from industrial and product design to UX, service design, and research. Representation is not a cause on the side. It is how you build products that actually work for the people who use them.
Empathy is her starting point. Good design begins with seeing the world through someone else's eyes, and the communities we build should carry that same care for one another. Diversity is where better ideas come from. Inclusion is what makes a diverse team real, where difference is heard, not tolerated. And allyship is the multiplier, because change moves fastest when the people already in the room hold the door open for those who are not.
Karthika is an Associate Design Director at Capgemini, where she leads a global team building Generative AI and emerging technology for investment banking, including work with Citigroup. Her career spans Dell Technologies, RSA Security, Target, Amazon, Intuit, PepsiCo, Saatchi & Saatchi, ESPN and the NBA, and she contributed to the design and launch of Miko.ai, one of the first AI companion robots for children and now a global brand.
An advocate for responsible AI, she has built tools to remove bias from fintech systems and was awarded 2026 AI Champion in Banking, North America. She is a member of AI 2030 and Women Defining AI.
Trained as both engineer and designer, across Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Industrial Design, and Human Computer Interaction, she co-taught Human Factors at Iowa State University. Beyond IDSA, she serves as IEEE Vice President of Young Professionals for Regions 1 and 2, and previously served as Vice President of the Robotics and Automation Society.
She mentors emerging designers and engineers, and has led IEEE summits, Women in Engineering conferences, and design conferences on leadership, inclusion, and the future of technology.
Her belief is simple. Product and technology should serve people. And the people who shape them should reflect everyone they serve.
