Chris Finlay Joins Business Innovation Factory Team

Posted by Melissa Withers on May 12, 2009

Finlay to serve as design director for BIF Student Experience Lab

The Business Innovation Factory is pleased to welcome Chris Finlay to the BIF team. Chris will serve as design director for the BIF Student Experience Lab, which opens May 18.

Chris comes to BIF from New York City, where he most recently served as a managing partner at DMD Experience Design, a boutique innovation consultancy that works with organizational leadership on user-driven product and service development.

“We are very pleased to have Chris on board at BIF and in the lead on the launch of the BIF Student Experience lab,” says BIF executive director Melissa Withers. “His expertise leading user-driven research and design work is a great match for BIF and the Student Experience Lab.”

For most of his career, Chris has focused his work on creating meaningful change in the world by leveraging the power of people, business and design to create innovative products and services. Chris has a BFA in graphic design and advertising from the School of Visual Arts, and a Master of Business and Master of Design in Innovation Planning at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He has also studied at the Culinary Institute of America.

“I discovered BIF through my interest in transformative design and connected with the team because of our similar interests. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to now join the team and tackle the launch of the BIF Student Experience Lab,” says Finlay. “It’s a perfect fit for me and I am excited to start a new venture in a city as cool as Providence.”

Chris has conducted work for the Mayo Clinic, Rocky Mountain Institute, CEOs for Cities, Jhane Barnes Menswear, Maybelline, Time Inc., Steven and William Ladd, OnCure, Hunter Douglas, and the City of Chicago. Chris has also shared his expertise through speaking engagements with organizations such as the University of Minnesota's Master of Health Administration program, Bethel University's NYCAMS, University of Pennsylvania School of Design and the Chicago chapter of the IxDA (Interaction Design Association).

“Chris will have his hands full with the launch of the Student Experience Lab and I know that he’ll hit the ground running when he joins us next week. I have no doubt that he is up for the challenge. He’s got the skills, but more importantly, he has the passion for innovation needed to build a laboratory where we can help our partners understand and improve the student experience,” says Withers