Dear IDSA Community,
It’s with mixed emotions that I am sharing with you the plan of Daniel Martinage, CAE, to retire as executive director of the Industrial Designers Society of America effective Feb. 28, 2018. Dan’s leadership and engagement with IDSA staff, members, sponsors and partners has helped to shape the IDSA community of today. Having joined the Board during the year in which he was hired, I have had the fortune of watching his work over time. When he joined IDSA we presented him with a fair number of challenges and some big goals. One thing in particular that I want to highlight is that he has been instrumental in helping us to build and protect an increasing financial reserve. This has helped position us for the future and enables us to take on new risks and challenges.
This transition comes at an interesting pivot point for IDSA and in this way, it can be an opportunity for us as well. The changes announced at this year’s International Design Conference (IDC) to our signature programs—the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) and IDC—are initiatives developed by Board Chair Emeritus John Barratt, FIDSA, to address new competitors and maintain our leadership in this new context. We are living in a new time for associations, in which the pressure to reinvent is coming from the proliferation of design across industries and expertise. For this reason, I’m also excited about the opportunity that Dan’s retirement presents to us. A new voice can help us continue to reinvent and imagine a new future for IDSA.
A note from Dan: “Serving as the Society’s staff lead has truly been an honor and, in some very important ways, life changing. When I came on board as ED, my understanding and appreciation for the industrial design profession was limited, but I realized very early on that an industrial designer —to some degree—touches everything around me. I learned something new every day while at IDSA and have met literally hundreds of unique and creative people. I thank IDSA’s current and former leadership for this opportunity and for their support and trust. I look forward to working with you all through this transition, and I’m excited about what new adventures await me.”
Please reach out to Dan directly to celebrate his time with IDSA or to me if you have questions about the upcoming transition.
Sincerely,
Megan Neese, IDSA
Chair, IDSA Board of Directors