Jeff DeBoer, Sundberg-Ferar’s Chief Innovation Officer and Chairman of the Michigan Design Council was invited to participate as a panelist at a roundtable of esteemed local, State and international leaders in manufacturing intensive industries. This closed event, held at the Detroit Marriot at the iconic Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, focused on driving new collaborations to position Michigan as a global leader in the future of manufacturing.
Photos of the event can be found at DBusiness’s website.
The World Economic Forum and Automation Alley sponsored the event and structured it as three rounds of collaborative discussion. Forum leaders set the stage by presenting their recent study focused on 4IR (the Fourth Industrial Revolution). The thesis of their work was centered on factors that will define the future of manufacturing, and specifically, how Michigan is uniquely positioned to accelerate their 4IR journey. Areas of focus included
– Technology: Scale & Speed
– Human Capital: Attractiveness & Training
– Infrastructure: Roads & Energy
– Institutional: Regulatory & Transition
Panel discussion was followed by smaller breakout sessions for all roundtable members to discuss and brainstorm potential solutions to these challenges and strategize collaborations that would lead to positive change . Finally, each group presented the conclusions they drew to the rest of the group.
Voices at the table included a range of influencers in the private and public sectors, academia and government. As the gathering explored key challenges and opportunities, Jeff contributed his deep understanding of design thinking and his extensive experience in creating innovation strategies capable of propelling a state into the future.
Jeff led the “strategy” break-out team with an energetic discussion on Michigan’s “human capital” and how the education of Michigan’s students and teacher professional training will ultimately position the State to remain competitive for the long term. He used the example of using design thinking principles in K – 12 classroom instruction as a way to motivate students and prepare them to excel in future, Michigan based jobs.
Jeff’s desire is to see the ideas from this event become realities as Michigan reaffirms itself as the global authority and primary resource for advanced manufacturing. As the state continues to draw on principles of design thinking and industrial design in its strategy for the future, it will continue to grow economically, provide well-paying jobs for its citizens, and outperform the competition on the world stage.
Jeff is a longtime partner and VP of Sundberg-Ferar, the second longest standing design and innovation consultancy in the United States. As Chief Innovation Officer, he developed Sundberg-Ferar’s bespoke innovation process, Genesisä, which he and his SF cohorts use to position global corporations to win in increasingly tumultuous markets. As a thought leader deeply involved in Michigan business, economic and design development, Jeff emphasizes collaboration using design thinking techniques to drive break through innovation. In 2014 Jeff led the creation of the Michigan Design Council, a Michigan non-profit organization focused on celebrating and retaining design talent in the state.