Dennis Frenchman is Emeritus Professor of Urban Design and Planning at MIT, and the founder and chair of MIT DesignX, the Institute’s program for accelerating innovation in design, cities, and the human environment. He has served as the associate dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, director of the MIT Center for Real Estate, chair of the Masters in City Planning degree program, and head of the City Design and Development group at MIT. As an architect and city designer, Dennis has a distinguished record of practice focusing on the transformation of cities. Most recently, he served as a senior partner in Tekuma Frenchman Urban Design, leading projects in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. He is an expert on the application of digital technology to city design and has designed large-scale, media-oriented cities and industrial clusters, including Seoul Digital Media City in Seoul, South Korea; the Digital Mile in Zaragoza, Spain; Media City: UK in Salford, England; Twofour54 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Ciudad Creativa Digital, Guadalajara, Mexico; and the Medellín Innovation District in Colombia. He also served as an external advisor on urban livability to the president of the World Bank. Dennis is the author of articles and books on advanced urban design, including Technological Imagination and the Historic City (2008, Ligouri, with William J. Mitchell et al.). He has a particular interest in the redevelopment of industrial sites and has prepared plans for the renewal of textile mill towns, canals, rail corridors, steel mills, coal and oil fields, shipyards, and ports, including many of international cultural significance. Recently, he led an MIT research effort to develop new models for clean energy urbanization in China, sponsored by the Energy Foundation. His work has been widely recognized, including awards from Progressive Architecture, the American Institute of Architects, and three citations from the American Planning Association for the most outstanding projects in the United States.

Svafa Grönfeldt, PhD, is a Professor of the Practice at the MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MAD) and a founding member and faculty director of MITdesignX, a design innovation program founded at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Her work focuses on harnessing the power of design to tackle complex challenges and drive innovation success, with an emphasis on sustainability, impact, and the development of high-growth ventures. An entrepreneur and venture designer, Svafa operates at the intersection of academia and industry, collaborating with polymathic teams worldwide to design and build award-winning programs, brands, systems, and organizational strategies to drive business performance and workplace well-being. Before joining MIT, she was a member of a team of entrepreneurs that scaled two global life science companies from the ground up, where she served as deputy to the CEO and Chief Organizational Design Officer. Between these roles, she served as president of Reykjavík University, where she led major institutional initiatives and strong collaboration between academic and industry partners. Svafa serves on the boards of three publicly traded companies listed on Nasdaq Nordic and the New York Stock Exchange. She holds a PhD in industrial relations from the London School of Economics, where her research focused on organizational development and transformational change. She is an active voice in industry forums and events, and has authored articles and books about the topic, including: Service Leadership. The Quest for Competitive Advantage (Grönfeldt and Strother, 2006). Svafa’s work centers on understanding and improving the dynamic relationship between people and their environments. Drawing on her industry experience and lifelong passion for education and design, she continues to drive the development of new theories and practices in the emerging field of design innovation. Her work seeks to reconnect people with purpose and context, regenerate sustainable, human-centered systems, and reimagine how design can shape more adaptive, equitable, and resilient futures.

Sigurður Þorsteinsson is the Chief Brand, Design, and Development Officer at Blue Lagoon Iceland. Since 1997, he has overseen all strategic design initiatives ranging across scales, including products, experiences, and facilities. His leadership has been instrumental in shaping the Blue Lagoon transformation into a globally recognized well-being brand. In parallel, Sigurður served as partner and chief design director at Design Group Italia (DGI), a Milan-based design and innovation firm, until 2023. During his three decades at DGI, he led complex, cross-sectoral projects ranging from health care and engineering to consumer goods, food systems, and destination experiences. His clients have included Samsung, 3M, ABB, Kone, Pepsico, Unilever, Barilla, Chicco, Flos, B&B Italia, and Moleskine, to name only a few. Sigurður’s practice moves beyond commercial design into visionary, purpose-driven collaborations, —including Björk’s Náttura initiative and Vatnavinir, a transdisciplinary think tank exploring water and wellbeing. He has partnered with UNICEF to rethink fundraising strategies and with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on design-led approaches to economic development. As an educator, he has taught at Politecnico di Milano, Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Milan, and the Iceland University of the Arts, guiding emerging designers at the intersection of design theory, innovation, and societal transformation. Sigurður has won numerous awards, such as the Compasso d’Oro, The Good Design, iF, Ahead, and multiple Red Dot Awards, including Red Dot Best-of-the-Best. His work is regularly featured in international publications such as Wallpaper, Dezeen, Time, and the Financial Times.