Dan Buchner

Dan Buchner is an award winning designer, entrepreneur, and innovation consultant. He has driven innovation in a wide range of organizations worldwide. For nearly 30 years Dan has been developing innovative new products, creating compelling new services and helping organizations establish design and innovation capabilities to drive their success. Dan is a sought after speaker and workshop facilitator on innovation practices and organizational strategies.

As Director, Innovation at The Center for Creative Leadership, Dan leads the innovation incubator. The incubator is focused on developing innovative new ways to deliver CCL’s world class leadership development expertise to leaders worldwide.  Dan co-developed the Innovation Leadership Workshop with David Horth, Senior Designer. This interactive workshop allows leaders to experience the process of innovation and develop new ways of leading in their organizations to foster innovation. 

Prior to joining CCL, Dan was Vice President of Organizational Innovation at Continuum, a leading innovation consultancy.  He directed interdisciplinary organizational innovation projects for leading organizations such as Proctor and Gamble, Pepsico, the government of Singapore, the Center for Creative Leadership and USAID. Prior to joining Continuum, Dan was the the Vice President of Innovation and Design at Moen Incorporated. He established Moen’s first Industrial Design Group and implemented the Moen Real World Lab, a simulated residential environment for consumer experience testing and research. He co-authored Moen’s Innovation and Product Development Process resulting in the development of Moen’s most successful products including the Monticello line, the OneTouch faucet, and the RevolutionShowerhead. In 1998 as Vice President of Innovation and Design, Dan led the development of the PureTouch water filtration faucet – an award-winning product that established Moen as the innovation leader in the industry.

In 1999, Dan led a project with top international designers and engineers to address widespread water and sanitation issues facing rural South African communities. Sponsored by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, this project greatly influenced Dan’s perspective on the power of innovative thinking and its potential impact on society. Dan’s recent work has involved using innovative thinking as an economic, leadership and social development tool in emerging markets such as South Africa, El Salvador, Jordan, and India.

As a member of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), Dan was named Chairman of IDSA’s Design Management Section in 2002. He served as a juror for the 2001, 2004 and 2006 Institute of Design Awards in Montreal, and the 2005 Housewares Design Awards. Dan has been the Innovator in Residence at the Creative for Creative Leadership. He has also served on the standards committee of the Canadian Standards Association and the advisory board for the Fanshawe School of Design in Ontario, Canada. Dan holds a degree in industrial design from the Fanshawe School of Design.

Dan is a lively speaker on topics including the creative corporation, principals of innovation, leading an innovative organization, transforming your organization, successful product design, how design thinking can be used to increase exports and research techniques for breaking out of commodity markets. Dan’s speaking engagements have included the Industrial Design Society of America, Harvard Business School, Association of Managers of Innovation, Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, International Design Forum in Dubai, Association of Professional Design Firms, Management Roundtable, Designer Showcase Bangalor India, Design India, Future of Healthcare Technology Summit, DesignMassachuesetts, International Housewares Association, Color Marketing Group, Center for Creative Leadership, the Design and Innovation Summit in El Salvador, and SABEQ Jordan. Dan has been a guest lecturer at Carleton University, Rotman School of Management University of Toronto, the Charter High School of Architecture and Design, Simmons College, University of Illinois Chicago and the Rhode Island School of Design where he has served a thesis advisor for graduate students.

Dan has been published in Innovations and Product Development Best Practices. He has been quoted in numerous publications such as the New York Times, BusinessWeek, ID magazine, A Whole New Mind, and the Boston Globe. Media appearances have included the Today Show and NBC Nightly News.

Dan has won 11 design awards including a bronze and gold BusinessWeek IDEA award. In 1999 he was awarded the Innovator of the Year award by EDI. He holds over 25 US and Canadian design and mechanical patents.