Terence Duncan
Vice President, Design and Product Management
GenZe by Mahindra
Terence Duncan’s creative influence has been felt on scores of commercialized products. As an adjunct faculty member at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit since 1996—as well as at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business—Duncan has developed and taught unique methodologies for expanding the role that design plays in the creation and fermentation of successful brands.
After leading interior design teams at Ford which were responsible for the 2010 Ford Fiesta and Fusion/Milan, Duncan led design and innovation activities intended to revamp the KitchenAid small appliance brand and product lineup at Whirlpool.
Duncan is one of the founding team members at the “upstart” GenZe brand. Its electric-connected two-wheelers offer alternative, sustainable solutions for a multi-modal, urban transportation landscape.
GenZe—Design from Scratch
GenZe was founded to provide alternative, sustainable solutions for an ever more crowded urban transportation landscape and Terence Duncan was there from the beginning.
He has worn many hats with this fledging enterprise, including head of design & marketing—and most recently, head of product management. As such, he had to balance the “purity” of design with the need to create a viable product, brand and business structure.
This is not a rose-colored case study. Duncan will share the successes and missteps associated with GenZe’s journey from conception to product launch—and the often-conflicting demands of design and marketing.
