On September 22, 2018, IDSA’s Board of Directors Chair, Megan Neese officially introduced Chris Livaudais as IDSA’s new Executive Director. Livaudais has been serving in an interim capacity since January 2018. The announcement was delivered on stage at the International Design Conference 2018 in New Orleans, LA, where hundreds of designers from around the world gathered for three jam-packed days of design connection and discourse.
Said Neese during her introduction, “Over the course of this year it has become clear to us that Chris is an enormously talented leader and manager. He has embraced a collaborative cross-functional model to program development that has pushed the board and the headquarters staff to work together. He has moderated in-person workshops with all of us driving home details of decision making to take conceptual ideas about what IDSA could do, into specifics about what IDSA will do.”
“I am delighted to continue this work and am thankful for the charge the Board of Directors has given me in this role. It’s a great honor, and I am humbled by the opportunity to lead this organization in the years ahead. IDSA has been the backbone of my professional design career, and I look forward to strengthening the Society’s position within our global design community.” stated Livaudais.
The appointment of Livaudais as Executive Director comes at a pivotal time in IDSA’s history. Like almost every other professional organization across the US, IDSA faces increasing competition for time, attention and engagement. “Instead of keeping things constant as we searched for a new Executive Director, he was busily moving the organization forward, making changes that we would imagine a new Executive Director would do, methodically finding and fixing issues in member experience, working through conflicts and level-setting expectations, drafting up new metrics and program plans. In essence, preparing the organization for a new future.” commended Neese.
During his acceptance presentation, Livaudais shared with the audience a glimpse into IDSA’s future, “What this means is that we will have a much more robust filter system in place when we’re analyzing new ideas or searching for ways to make improvements to legacy programs. Everything will be grounded in the foundation of our pillars, the purpose of our manifesto, and in alignment with our future vision goals. Perhaps most of all, it helps keep us focused on delivering an exceptional membership experience.”
Livaudais is based in San Francisco, CA and will work remotely with the IDSA team who is based in Herndon, VA. This new, bi-coastal presence will open new doors for IDSA and will help the team better support thousands of members who are spread out across the country.