University Hospitals | Vice President, Innovation & Product Strategy, 1/2022 – Present
- Lead the innovation and product strategy portfolio of work (UH Ventures) where the focus is on (1) generating alternative sources of revenue for UH and (2) improving quality of patient, family, and caregiver “user experiences” through the creation or co-development of new products and services. The most promising opportunities, in turn, become well-positioned for better adoption, commercialization support, and investment consideration
- Lead human-centered design and design thinking initiatives aimed at building a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across the Cleveland ecosystem
- Lead innovation collaboration with external/corporate partners and manage the UH focus on “product innovation” within the Cleveland Innovation District institutional coalition
- Oversee two accelerator programs (concept development funds) and a range of “Innovation Days” that spur internal innovation and award capital to advance the most promising opportunities
University Hospitals | Managing Director, UH Ventures, 4/2018 – 12/2021
- Built and managed an innovation engine
- Co-built a team whose responsibilities include: creation of new products and services with aim toward internal use and commercialization, advisory services (i.e., product consulting), co-development work with industry players and startups, pipeline management and prioritization, and programming efforts (e.g., innovation summits and events) to engage staff
- Built product offering and capability (digital health, medtech, and user experience design) that generates top-line revenue for system and tees up the most viable engagements for investment consideration; built a “living lab” framework that underlies these offerings
- Co-led UH Alternative PPE Taskforce and launched UH Healthy Restart (helping businesses reopen safely) reporting into system command center during COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery
University Hospitals | Director of Innovation, 1/2016 – 12/2021
- Served as the key business partner to the Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) to identify, prioritize and implement innovation initiatives at University Hospitals before innovation functions were integrated into UH Ventures
- Built innovation resources and tools for caregivers (e.g., idea intake platform, how-to guides for innovators and inventors) and a leadership learning platform (e.g., “Innovation by Design,” most-engaged LMS course) that offers innovation and design thinking tools for use in healthcare
Microbac Laboratories | Head of Design, 5/2014 – 12/2015
- Responsible for amplifying design thinking in a mid-sized, privately-held organization—reporting directly to the CEO; established design capability within the organization via a portfolio of design projects
- Led as co-chair of the Advisory Council to the CEO
- Architect of various corporate-wide initiatives under the overarching, renewed vision of ‘Client Experience’
Marriott International | Senior Interaction Designer, 9/2008 – 5/2014
- Led product development to expand guest services through new digital products, including Marriott’s first suite of mCommerce applications and on-property digital services—this became the 3rd most revenue generating mCommerce platform in the world after Amazon and Apple (Internet Retailer’s Mobile Commerce Top 300 Rankings). Platform generated $329MM in 2011 and $730MM in 2012; Marriott iPhone app ranked #1 travel app and #4 most downloaded free app in iTunes Store at launch
- Co-produced a 10 years-out digital experience strategy framework with a senior executive. Approved at the ‘Heart and Soul’ C-suite Executive Board meeting, which included Mr. Marriott, and used to drive enterprise digital strategy
- Led UX team’s first ethnographic research (proposed and received $100K budget) that informed organization-wide Leisure Strategy
- Worked with the Insight, Strategy and Innovation (ISI) group to design for virtual-physical guest experiences targeting Millennials
frog design | Interaction Designer, 6 – 8/2008
- Researched for Project Masiluleke, a global impact project to fight HIV/AIDS in South Africa through mobile technologies and home-testing kits
- Worked on projects for Humana, GE and various internal initiatives
IDEO | Interaction Designer Intern, 6 – 8/2007
- Explored ideas to develop concepts for an insulin delivery medical device
- Worked on two projects for Eli Lilly
Noah Interior Design Consulting Group | Asst. Manager, 5 – 9/2004
- Managed projects for Kate Spade, Calvin Klein & French Connection
- Produced proposals and organized timely delivery of all components necessary for construction
Korea International Broadcasting Foundation | Co-host, 1 – 7/2005
- Co-hosted a live radio program with renowned broadcaster, Robert Holley, and discussed cultural topics on one of Korea’s most listened to stations
Chungdahm Learning | Staff & Media Instructor, 1/2005 – 6/2006
- Taught advanced language courses to over 1,500 Korean students
- Created content and lectured on the subject of writing to approximately 16,000 students via the organization’s internet-based eLearning program
Various Clients | Strategy Consultant, 9/2012 – Present
- Clients include Swagelok, Cuyahoga Community College, Sociagram
Lee, K. “Critique of Design Thinking in Organizations: Strongholds and Shortcomings of the Making Paradigm.” She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation 7, no. 4 (Winter 2021): 497-515.
Runnels, P., Webbe, H., Lee, K., Jernejcic, R., Pronovost, P. “Designing for Value in Specialty Referrals: A New Framework for Eliminating Defects in Health Care.” NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery 2, issue 3 (June 2021).
Lee, K., Merkle, B., Zenker, M., Colella, P. “Touchless Touchpoints: Redrafting the Service Blueprint for a Post-pandemic World.” Touchpoint 12, no. 2 (April 2021): 46-50.
Lee, K. “From Margin to Institution: Design as a Marketplace for Action in Organizations.” Design Issues 36, no. 4 (Autumn 2020): 5-19.
John, A.R., Raju, S., Cadnum, J.L., Lee, K., McClellan, P., Akkus, O., Miller, S.K., Jennings, W.D., Buehler, J.A., Li, D.F., Redmond, S.N., Braskie, M., Hoyen, C., Donskey, C.J. “Scalable In-hospital Decontamination of N95 Filtering Face-piece Respirator with a Peracetic Acid Room Disinfection System.” Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology (October 2020), 1-10.
Tokayer, M. & Lee, K. “Cultivating Healthcare Innovation through On-the-Job Design Education.” Touchpoint 9, no. 1 (July 2017): 26-31.
Lee, K. “Discovering the Beautiful in ‘Service as Expression’.” Touchpoint 5, no. 3 (January 2014): 40-45.
Lee, K. “Hospitality Service as Science and Art: The Luxury Hotel Idea from a Century Ago.” Touchpoint 4, no. 1 (May 2012): 26-31.
Lee, K. “Beyond Blueprints and Basics: A Service Design Conference Report.” Design Issues 27, no. 4 (Autumn 2011): 95-100.
Lee, K. “Designing for Doctor-Patient Interactions During Leave-taking – A Case Study: Impacting a Physician-led Organisation.” Touchpoint 3, no. 2 (September 2011): 32-37.
Lee, K., Evenson, S., Buchanan, R. “More Than Kimchi and Cash: Designing for Cultural Identity.” In Proc. of CHI (2009): 2663-2666.
Lee, K. “A Drama on Designing Products for Cultural Identity.” Masters in Interaction. Dissertation, Carnegie Mellon University, 2008. Advisor: Richard Buchanan, PhD.
Lee, K. “Looking to Space for Innovation Inspiration During Times of Crisis.” Healthcare Innovation – hcinnovationgroup.com (December 14, 2020).
“University Hospitals and HOHM to Offer Sleep Pods for Essential Workers During the COVID 9 Pandemic.” prweb.com (October 12, 2020).
“How University Hospitals Found a Way to Clean Up to 30K Masks Per Day—with NASA’s Help.” Advisory Board – advisory.com (October 8, 2020).
“University Hospitals, NASA Collaborate to Decontaminate PPE.” Spectrum News (July 17, 2020).
“UH, NASA Glenn Testing New Mask Decontamination Methods.” NPR’s Ideastream (June 30, 2020).
Lee, K. “Purposeful, Focused Creativity for Organizational Change.” Cleveland Jewish News (November 2014).
Connecting Innovation Policy & Practice Ohio (CIPPO) Summit 2022 | Panelist, 7/13/2022
- Inaugural summit to discuss the future state of innovation in Ohio, sponsored by the U.S. EDA, JobsOhio, and Cleveland State University
Virtual MedTech Happy Hour via Project Medtech | Featured Guest, 5/5/2022
- Theme: “Innovation: Setting Your Company Up for Success in Commercialization, Adoption, and Further Investment”
Central Ohio HFMA Spring Conference | Panelist, 3/24/2022
- Healthcare Financial Management Association’s Central Ohio chapter conference
- Panel theme: “Best Practices in Evaluating Healthcare Innovations”
Customer & Systems Experience Summit at Progressive Insurance | Keynote, 10/10/2017
- An internal summit that brings together two groups responsible for the design of customer & consultant experiences delivered via online, app, email and over the phone for sales and service needs – the theme for 2017 was “The Power of Partnerships,” bringing 150 people together
- Title: “Design Thinking for Better Organizational Doing”
Belcher-Weir Family Pediatric Innovation Day | Keynote, 9/22/2016
- A series of annual innovation events hosted by University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital
- Title: “Perpetual Wonder: Innovation Inspired by Children”
DESMA Chats | Episode 6 Featured Guest, 9/2015
- A series of on-air hangouts where people interested in design and management the back-end of work in a trans-disciplinary settings
- Title: “Beauty in Organizations” [watch talk on Youtube]
Cleveland AIA ‘Speaker on the Square’ Series | Panelist, 7/25/2014
- 1st event of its kind to engage architects and non-architects in Cleveland on how design could make the city a better place for visitors and inhabitants
Design for America’s (DFA) Speaker Series | Keynote, 10/30/2013
- DFA CWRU+CIA’s 1st speaker series event titled, “Why Design?”
- Title: “Cicero on Systems & Social Design”
PATx 2013 at Progressive Insurance | Speaker, 7/25/2014
- Progressive Insurance Acquisition Team’s annual event
- One of 2 external guest speakers invited to present at corporate headquarters
- Title: “The Power of ‘In a Sense’: Topical Thinking for Organizations”
Leap Symposium | Invited Participant, 9/19 – 9/21/2013
- One of 100 invited participants to discuss at the 1st social design conference
TEDxCLE 2013 | Speaker, 3/21/2013
- Cleveland’s 4th official TEDx event, focused on the theme of collaboration
- One of 14 selected speakers
- Title: “Master Builders for the 21st Century” [watch talk on Youtube]
Swagelok Global Marcom Summit | Speaker, 9/19/2012
- Guest speaker for Swagelok’s annual conference on customer experience
- Title: “Designing for Service & Experience”
Service Design in Tourism Conference | Keynote, 8/23 – 8/24/2012
- 1st international conference on service design in the travel/tourism industry
- Funded by the European Union under the CIP Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme
- Title: “Hospitality Service as Science & Art: Service Design from 100 Years Ago”
Managing Experience (MX) 2012 | Speaker, 3/4 – 3/5/2012
- Hosted by award-winning design firm, Adaptive Path
- One of 22 invited speakers
- Title: “Four Meta-strategies for Design and Management” [watch talk on Vimeo]
Service Design Global Conference | Speaker, 10/19 – 10/21/2011
- One of 28 long-talks chosen among 110 submissions
- Title: “Strategic Planning Sandwiched by Sketchbooks and Spreadsheets”
6th Jeju Forum – South Korea| Invited Panelist, 5/27 – 5/29/2011
- Sponsored by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Participated in the management and design workshop where top business innovation leaders from Asia come together every 2 years
- One of 28 participants (by invitation only)
Convergence: Managing & Designing | Participant, 6/18 – 6/19/2010
- Participated in a working conference to explore managing as a design activity One of 68 participants (by invitation only)
4th Order Design Conference | Presenter, 3/27 – 3/29/2009
- Participated in a working conference on service design & social environments One of 20 participants (by invitation only)
- Title: “System, Worship and Faith as Concepts for Design”
Computer-Human Interaction (CHI) | Presenter, 4/4 – 4/9/2009
- Presented at the CHI (Computer-Human Interaction) conference in Boston for accepted paper on designing for cultural identity
- Title: “Designing for Cultural Identity”
Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management
PhD in Management, Dept. of Design & Innovation (8/2010 – 8/2022)
Advisor: Richard Buchanan, PhD
Carnegie Mellon University, School of Design
Master of Design (MDes) in Interaction Design (8/2006 – 5/2008)
University of Pennsylvania, School of Design
Master of Architecture – did not complete (9/2003 – 5/2004)
University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering
Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) in Biomedical Sciences / Mathematics minor (9/1999 – 5/2003)
