Mariana Amatullo, President, Cumulus A practitioner-scholar, educator, and design strategist, Mariana is the President of the Cumulus Association. She is an Associate Professor of Strategic Design and Management at Parsons School of Design. She serves as the Vice Provost for Global Executive Education and Online Strategic Initiatives at The New School, New York. Previously, Mariana co-founded and led the award-winning social innovation department, Designmatters, at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California. Mariana’s research and publishing bridge the design and management fields and examine the role designers play in advancing social innovation and organizational learning. Mariana holds a Ph.D. in Management from Case Western Reserve University, an M.A. in Art History and Museum Studies from the University of Southern California, and a Licence en Lettres from the Sorbonne University, Paris, where she also studied Art History at L’Ecole du Louvre. A native of Argentina and the child of a diplomat, Mariana grew up around the world.

Isabelle Vérilhac, President, Bureau of European Design Associations (BEDA) Isabelle is the head of International Affairs and Innovation and coordinator of Saint-Etienne (France) UNESCO City of Design and the President of the Bureau of European Design (BEDA). Isabelle holds a Post-Diploma in design research, a Doctorate in material chemical physics, and gives lectures in industrial design. She was the director of the Saint-Etienne Medical Technologies Cluster from 2003 to 2007, and has worked in design, medical research and development activities. For 14 years she has been in charge of the relations with economic stakeholders at the Cité du design Saint-Etienne. She created and set up the materials resource center, the innovative uses and practices labs and the Design Creative City Living Lab of the Cité du design.

Kari Kivinen, Education outreach expert, European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) Observatory Kari Kivinen is the Education Outreach Expert of the European Union Intellectual Property Office OBSERVATORY. He is involved e.g. with the Intellectual Property in Education Network-project, which promotes creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and responsible digital engagement among young Europeans. He has worked in international schools in Finland, Luxembourg and Belgium. He is the former Secretary-General of the European School system and ex-Head of the Finnish French school of Helsinki. During his professional career, he has combined his everyday work with research and further studies. He builds bridges between educational research and school system reform.