The Smithsonian Institution’s board of regents recently appointed to the board of trustees of Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Jon Iwata, senior vice president, marketing and communications, IBM; Avi Reichental, president and CEO, 3D Systems; and Todd Waterbury, senior vice president, executive creative director, marketing, Target Corporation. Led by chair Barbara Mandel and president Beth Comstock, Cooper-Hewitt’s board includes 36 distinguished civic and business leaders dedicated to the continued growth of the museum.
“As we start the countdown to our reopening in late 2014, it is absolutely thrilling to welcome to our board of trustees Jon, Avi and Todd, each of whom is passionate about the future of the nation’s design museum and its impact on visitors worldwide,” said Cooper-Hewitt director Caroline Baumann. “Both Jon and Todd will be of vital assistance in providing innovative marketing ideas and connections for promoting the new museum, and Avi will be instrumental in helping Cooper-Hewitt integrate digital technology into a transformative visitor experience.”
Iwata leads IBM’s marketing, communications and citizenship organization, which is responsible for the marketing of IBM’s portfolio of products and services, market development and insights, communications and corporate affairs and stewardship of the IBM brand. He is chairman of the IBM Strategy Team, which focuses on the company’s long-term strategic issues and opportunities and is a member of the IBM Operating Team, responsible for day-to-day marketplace execution. Iwata is vice chairman of the IBM International Foundation and serves on the board of directors of the Japan Society.
“I am deeply honored to be elected a trustee of Cooper-Hewitt, especially at this historic and exciting time for the museum,” said Iwata. “Design, broadly understood, has never been more central to re-imagining and transforming how our world works, and no institution plays a more vital role in shaping the meaning and relevance of design than Cooper-Hewitt.”
Since September 2003, Reichental has been president and CEO of 3D Systems, a global 3D content-to-print leader that has empowered professionals and consumers worldwide to create and make. Prior to joining 3D Systems, Reichental served in various senior executive positions with Sealed Air Corporation for more than 22 years. He is the recipient of the regional 2011 EY Entrepreneur of the Year award and the 2012 Financial Times Boldness in Business award and holds 25 U.S. patents. Reichental currently serves as faculty chair of the Digital Fabrication Program at Singularity University and is a member of the XPRIZE innovation board and the National Children’s Oral Health Foundation board, also known as America’s ToothFairy.
“I am honored and humbled to become part of Cooper-Hewitt, our national design museum, and thrilled to help this national treasure expand its mission and reach by harnessing the latest 3D design and printing tools,” said Reichental.
Waterbury is Target’s executive creative director and is responsible for establishing the creative direction of Target’s marketing efforts and leading an internal team of art directors, designers, developers, writers and producers, as well as its external agency partners. He joined Target in January 2013 from the consulting company he founded, working with national and international clients. Prior to that, Waterbury served as co-executive creative director at Wieden+Kennedy New York, an agency where he oversaw campaigns for brands ranging from Nike to Delta Airlines. His work has received numerous design and advertising awards and is included in the permanent collections of the Guggenheim and The Museum of Modern Art.
“I’m honored to join this prestigious organization and devote my time to accelerating the influence of great design,” said Waterbury.
About the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
As the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design, Cooper-Hewitt educates, inspires and empowers people through design. The museum is undergoing a transformative renovation resulting in 60 percent more gallery space and will open in fall 2014 with an entirely new visitor experience. During the renovation, Cooper-Hewitt’s events and education programs are popping up locally at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Center in Harlem and nationally with traveling exhibitions and the Design in the Classroom program in New Orleans, New York City, San Antonio, Cleveland, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C.