Ivy Ross is the Creative Catalyst for Gap Inc and Chairwoman of Social Chocolate, a startup dedicated to creating games that change the world powered by the science of positive emotion and social connection. Ivy has held many executive positions ranging from head of product design and development to presidencies with several companies, including Calvin Klein, Swatch, Coach and Mattel. Both Fast Company and Business Week have chosen Ivy to represent the new face of leadership.
As an innovative entrepreneur and thinker, Ivy creates unique collaborative environments with her teams. To maximize her collaborators’ creative potential, Ivy draws upon her personal studies in a diverse range of fields, including sound vibration, quantum physics, energy medicine and living systems. Many of her methodologies, most notably Project Platypus, have been adopted not only by Mattel but also Procter and Gamble, where she serves as a member of its design board.
Ivy has been a contributing author to numerous books, including The Change Champions Field Guide and Best Practices in Leadership Development and Organizational Change. Her work as a leader of innovation has been referenced in Ten Faces of Innovation, Rules of Thumb, and Unstuck among others.
A renowned artist, Ross’ innovative metal work in jewelry is in the permanent collections of 12 international museums, including the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., the Victorian Albert Museum in London and the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City. A winner of the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts grant, Ross has also received the Women in Design Award and Diamond International Award for her creative designs.
Meet the other Mavericks
Julian Birkinshaw Julian Birkinshaw
Professor of Strategic and International Management at London Business SchoolVineet Nayar Vineet Nayar
Former CEO, HCL Technologies Founder, Sampark Foundation & Author, "Employees First, Customers Second" at HCL TechnologiesAndrew McAfee Andrew McAfee
Principal Research Scientist, Center for Digital Business, MIT Author, Enterprise 2.0 at Center for Digital Business, MITBob Sutton Bob Sutton
Stanford UniversityHenry Chesbrough Henry Chesbrough
Executive Director, Center for Open Innovation at Haas School of BusinessBill Taylor Bill Taylor
Author, Practically RadicalTony Schwartz Tony Schwartz
The Energy ProjectDaniel Pink Daniel Pink
Author, To Sell is HumanGreg Sutherland Greg Sutherland
Executive General Manager of Group Strategy and Innovation at National Australia Bank (NAB)