David A. Owens

Dr. David A. Owens serves as the Evans Family Executive Director of The Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, for which he led the visioning and design. He serves as Professor of the Practice of Innovation at the Owen Graduate School of Management with a joint appointment in the Vanderbilt School of Engineering. In 2021 he was named an Alexander Heard Distinguished Service Professor for the university.

Owens received his PhD through a joint program between the School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University where he also earned his BS in electrical engineering and an MS in Product Design & Engineering.

A Registered Professional Engineer, a status he earned while working at the San Francisco International Airport, Owens also has significant industry experience. He was CEO of Griffin Technology, at the time the largest Apple iPod/iPhone accessory maker, he consulted on innovation strategy and design process for NASA, Mars, Wrigley, Cisco, LEGO, Bridgestone, and Nissan among many others, and he serves on private and public corporate boards. As a design engineer at IDEO, he worked on new products for firms including Apple, Dell, Xerox, Canon, and Steelcase.

His academic work takes a cross-disciplinary perspective on innovation practices and constraints in business, healthcare and education. He has published in numerous journals and given more than 250 talks internationally. His book, “Creative People Must Be Stopped! Six Ways We Stop Innovation Without Even Trying,” is the basis of his MOOC that has enrolled over 150,000 students.