Top 20 influencers: the brightest big bosses in the business
Our pick of the men and women who match vision with strategic smarts, and manufacturing and design innovation with a confidence that quality will, eventually, win out
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Behind every great design company is an equally – if not greater – business mind. As part of our Power 200 list of the globe's pre-eminent design talent – a doubling of our Power 100 list, devised as part of our celebratory 200th issue of Wallpaper* – we've collated a list of the brightest big bosses in the business; the men and women who match vision with strategic smarts, and manufacturing and design innovation with a confidence that quality will, eventually, win out.
On one side, we have those eponymous heads of totemic and established companies at the top of their games: such titans as Carlo Molteni and Alberto Alessi, Michael Maharam, Rolf and Mette Hay, Roberto and Renato Minotti, and Nadja Swarovski, the latter of whom has transformed a twee brand into a dazzling design patron.
On the other, the power CEOs revitalising and pushing existing brands to the peak of their powers: Claudio Luti at Kartell, Kvadrat's Anders Byriel, Georg Jensen's David Chu, Restoration Hardware moderniser Gary Friedman, Marianne Goebl at the Vitra-owned Artek, ClassiCon's Oliver Holy and Vitra's own co-CEO Nora Feldbaum.
In between – though no less significant – are other tactical mega-minds such as Vipp’s CEO and chief designer Kasper Egelund and Morten Bo Jensen (respectively), Flos' lighting maven Piero Gandini, SCP founder Sheridan Coakley, Emeco-embellisher Gregg Buchbinder, B&B Italia CEO Giorgio Busnelli and the sharply intuitive Patrizia Moroso.
It's hard to underestimate the significance of our chosen 20 – the individuals with our contemporary design identity in their hands, and the facilitators pushing the world's brightest design talents to stratospheric new heights.
See the Power 200 in full here
Anders Byriel: The Kvadrat CEO has kept the textile specialist cutting edge
Carlo Molteni: MD of the gamechanging Italian furnishing brand. Pictured with Rodolfo Dordoni, W*134
Claudio Luti: The Kartell boss has revolutionised plastic
David Chu: The Georg Jensen CEO is giving the brand a new shine.
Gary Friedman: The Restoration Hardware CEO is taking a modern turn
Jerry Helling: Bernhardt’s president signed up Behar, Levy and Hayon. Pictured at the ICFF 2007 Wallpaper* Party (far right) with Anne and Alex Bernhardt of Bernhardt Design with Designer Arik Levy
Gregg Buchbinder: Emeco’s chief has added Starck and Morrison, among many other esteemed names, to its portfolio. Pictured: Emeco metal craftsman Josh Fisher making a one-off version of Jasper Morrison’s ’Alfi’ chair, overseen by Gregg Buchbinder at Wallpaper* Handmade 2015
Giorgio Busnelli: B&B Italia’s CEO recently sold a stake to Investindustrial.
Marianne Goebl: Currently revitalising the Vitra-owned Artek
Michael Maharam: After Herman Miller’s 2013 acquisition of Maharam, we await what the brand’s former CEO does next
Kasper Egelund and Morten Bo Jensen: Vipp’s CEO and chief designer. Pictured here at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2015 with digital designer Sine Ringaard Jorgensen
Minotti Brothers: Roberto and Renato’s singular vision continues to uplift. Pictured: Brothers Renato and Roberto Minotti, flaked by Renato’s twin sons Alessio and Alessandro in the Minotti showroom outside Milan as originally featured in W*162.
Nadja Swarovski: She transformed a twee brand into a dazzling design patron
Nora Fehlbaum: The Vitra CEO is moving the company to new heights.
Oliver Holy: ClassiCon’s CEO has turned it into a forward-looking brand. Pictured with Alfredo Häberli
Patrizia Moroso: She has a sharp eye and a warm embrace for design talent
Piero Gandini: The Flos chief has led advances in lighting technology. Pictured: October 2014, W*187
Rolf and Mette Hay: Hay excels at witty, modern objects at affordable prices.
Sheridan Coakley: Founder of SCP, which turned 30 this year. Pictured: Top left, Matthew Hilton, the late James Irvine, Michael Marriott, Sheridan Coakley, Terence Woodgate, Jasper Morrison and Konstantin Grcic, shot at the company’s Milan debut in 1996, more than a decade after SCP was founded. Beneath, the same group today, with designer Marialaura Rossiello Irvine standing in for her late husband, James, and Grcic, who couldn’t make the shoot but sent us a life-sized paper cut-out instead. As featured in W*194.
INFORMATION
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Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.
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