Dr Frederik G Pferdt
Frederik’s passion is to develop the capacity to innovate in everyone and he believes creativity exists in all of us. He initiated a community of over 500 Google Innovation Evangelists and is co-founder of “TheGoogle Garage” and creator of Google’s first Innovation Laboratory (CSI:Lab), which is used by600+ teams/year across Alphabet/Google from YouTube, Hardware, Android to Sales and Cloud, the HR team to [x] to solve big problems creatively, generating and testing hundreds of new-to-the-world ideas, fast.
As an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (aka: d.school), he teaches graduate courses like: “Hacking your innovation mindset” or “Design for AI-powered future” and feels lucky to empower students through Design Thinking so that they can invent cool things that matter in the world. He was nominated as a visiting scholar at the Center for DesignResearch, Stanford University and research scholar at EdLab, Columbia University where he researched the convergence of design, technology and education. He is founding faculty of The Google School for Leaders and currently amongst the “top ten most influential Germans in Silicon Valley” (SZ, Focus) and has developed an approach to innovation culture, creative leadership and future technology that has been used around the world by startups, schools, nonprofits, and governments as well as Fortune 500 companies plus organizations like the UN, NASA, DFB and NBA. He got featured in over 180 articles in international newspapers, magazines and documentaries like FastCompany, Inc. Magazine, Times Magazine, WirtschaftsWoche, Der Spiegel, Financial Times, Capital, Manager Magazine, brandeins, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, The Telegraph, Arte TV, VOX TV and ARD.
With his award-winning approach (New Work Award), he currently serves as Innovation Consultant to the United Nations (UN), advisor to the University Innovation Fellows and Innovation Coach of the German Soccer Association (DFB). The “Pope of Creativity” (Focus) is founder with his wife Angela of Germany’s kids maker space: “Tüftelei”. Living above Silicon Valley in the Santa Cruz mountains, he draws inspiration from the playfulness and explorer mindsets of his three children.