Stefano Marzano, the Founding Dean of THNK

“Stefano plays a vital role to inspire and give direction to the faculty and the program content at THNK”, says Bas Verhart, co-founder of THNK. “He has been involved with THNK at the very early We are very happy that he has accepted this honorary position and is willing to offer us his experience to further develop our school and our curriculum.”

In addition to his Philips activities, Stefano has always been involved in design education and governmental policy. For many years (until 1998), he was Professor at the Domus Academy in Milan (Italy) and a member of the Academy’s Strategic Board, and in 1999-2001 he was Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Design of the Milan Polytechnic Institute. He was also instrumental in helping to set up the Faculty of Industrial Design at the Technical University in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) in 2001, where he currently chairs the Supervisory Board. He has received honorary Doctorates in Design, Honoris Causa, from University ‘La Sapienza’, (Rome, Italy) and the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong. He is a regular juror for international design competitions.

Stefano Marzano worked at Philips from 1973 to 2011, directing the design activities of the Major Domestic Appliances division in Italy, later moving in 1978 to the Netherlands, where he directed design activities for the Data Systems and Telecommunications Division and at eventually became Chief Design Officer of Philips. Stefano Marzano was born in Varese, Italy, in 1950, and graduated from the Milan Polytechnic Institute with a doctorate in Architecture.