Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessie Stettin.
Jessie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Whether is was a perk of being the youngest child, witnessing the experiences of my older and wiser siblings or a philosophical tension in my childhood; growing up in a fairly religious, somewhat insular community in the world’s most diverse geographic location (Queens, NY), I’ve always been fascinated with the human experience. This interest in how we live our days and lives drew me to reading and re-reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, listening to hours of content by the late author David Foster Wallace and ultimately, inspired by the work of Kahneman, Tversky and Ariely, co-founding the Behavioral Economic Association at Brandeis International Business School.
While I started my career in a more traditional role as part of a Leadership Development Program at Sun Life Financial, I always knew I wanted to find a way to more directly impact the intersection of business and humanity. After spending a few years founding three CRE finance and investment companies, advising and structuring product roll outs for two startups across their e-commerce and industrial distribution networks as well as building out the Boston division for IVY, The Social University, I found myself in the perfect role as the Director of Strategy for the World-Class German innovation and design firm, Indeed. With a motto of ‘human first in innovation’, Indeed works with clients in developing new products and services.
Has it been a smooth road?
I like to think of the road as (almost) always smooth but often winding. One of the times of real uncertainty in this journey was when I switched careers two years ago. I had decided to leave my job in finance in pursuit of mission-driven work but had little direction and so I spent a few months thinking, writing and traveling. What ultimately helped me find my north star was looking for the intersection between my skillset and what the world needs. I don’t believe in having a true calling; as someone with many interests and (not as) many skills, it’s an ever-evolving process.
That said, whenever I’ve asked myself “what is the right decision”, I’ve always had an answer.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Indeed Innovation story. Tell us more about the business.
Indeed is a German-based innovation services firm helping Fortune 500s, SMEs and startups develop new products and services. We provide innovation consulting, design research, service design, industrial design, software design, brand packaging and engineering.
We believe in preserving the beauty and enhancing the depth of humanity in an age in which technology, efficiency and data increasingly overshadow that and design is our tool to rectify that mission. As presented by our brilliant Founder and CEO, “it’s all a matter of putting humans back in the center of evolution, especially today in times of AI and automation.” Our previous clients include Wagner, Airbus, BRITA, Mont Blanc, Linde and Olympus, among others and what we’re best known for is the combination of our imaginative creativity with our sound industrial design fundamentals.
For us, Human Centered Design is not enough. We believe in ‘Human First in Innovation’ as our guiding principle.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The biggest shift that has already started in our industry is a focus on Circular Design. Similar to the ‘Cradle to Cradle’ philosophy that I studied in environmental science years ago, Circular Design is a principle that innovators will begin to use to look at the full product lifecycle. Innovators and designers will no longer simply look at the life of a product in terms of it’s intended primary functionality but instead design it with secondary and tertiary uses in mind (i.e. not only thinking how can I design the perfect desk chair but what could this desk chair become after it breaks or goes out of fashion).
As a passionate environmentalist, this is an incredibly exciting shift in our design thinking and I look forward to embracing the circular economy!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.indeed-innovation.com
- Email: j.stettin@indeed-innovation.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/INDEEDInnovation/
Image Credit:
IVY, The Social University, David Schrager
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