eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) has appointed John Maeda, a leading graphic
designer, computer scientist, artist, educator and former President of
the Rhode Island School of Design, as the Chair of the newly-created
eBay Inc. Design Advisory Board.
In this capacity, Maeda will work with product development and design
teams across eBay Inc.’s PayPal, eBay Marketplaces and eBay Enterprise
business units. He will help evolve the company’s overall design
thinking to create products and experiences that drive deep consumer
engagement and loyalty. Maeda will report to eBay Inc. President and
Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe.
In a separate announcement today, Maeda said he is leaving his post as
President of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to become a Design
Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in January 2014 in addition
to his role at eBay Inc.
“In today’s technology-driven commerce environment, design thinking is
critically important at the intersection of business and technology to
create seamless experiences consumers love,” said eBay Inc. CEO John
Donahoe. “John Maeda is a recognized leader and innovative thinker in
this space, who firmly believes in the power of art and design to help
transform the 21st century economy. John will be instrumental in helping
us evolve our design thinking capabilities to deliver differentiated
commerce products and experiences.”
On joining eBay Inc., Maeda said: “I am passionate about revealing art
and design’s role in innovation, and eBay Inc. is an exciting
opportunity to drive design innovation in the commerce revolution.”
Maeda has served as President of RISD since 2008. While there, Maeda led
the movement to transform STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Math) to STEAM by adding Art. Maeda previously served as associate
director of research at the MIT Media Lab and is currently on the boards
of Sonos, Quirky, and Wieden+Kennedy, and on the Davos World Economic
Forum's Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership. Maeda
received the AIGA Medal in 2010 and is in the permanent collection of
the Museum of Modern Art.
About eBay Inc.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global commerce and payments leader,
providing a robust platform where merchants of all sizes can compete and
win. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. connects millions of
buyers and sellers and enabled $175 billion of commerce volume in 2012.
We do so through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, which
allows users to buy and sell in nearly every country on earth; through
PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and
quickly send and receive digital payments; and through eBay Enterprise,
which enables omnichannel commerce, multichannel retailing and digital
marketing for global enterprises in the U.S. and internationally. We
also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub,
the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay classifieds sites,
which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the
world. For more information about the company and its global portfolio
of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2013