David Butler

David Butler first joined Coca-Cola to revolutionize the company’s approach to design—not just how things look, but a holistic, systems-based approach to create growth across the business. It’s the subject of his new book, Design to Grow. In his talks, Butler reveals the secrets of Coke’s ongoing success and how his new startup-focused venture platform is poised to change the way large organizations innovate.

David Butler is a designer, entrepreneur, educator, and leader on a mission to make it easier for starters to scale and scalers to start. His new book Design to Grow: How Coca-Cola Learned to Combine Scale and Agility (and How You Can Too), co-authored with Linda Tischler, explores the relationship between design, startup culture, and corporate growth. It is the first book written by a current employee at Coca-Cola.

In his role as Vice President, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at The Coca-Cola Company, Butler leads a new venturing platform—Coca-Cola Founders—designed to create seed-stage startups by opening up Coca-Cola’s assets to a global network of rock-star founders. He joined Coca-Cola in 2004 as the Company’s first VP, Global Design. He established a cross-functional, systems-based approach to design across more than 200 countries. Prior to Coca-Cola, David founded Process1234.com; consulted Gucci, United, and Caterpillar; taught systems theory; and designed large-scale systems for UPS, Delta, CNN, and the 1996 Olympic Games.

Along the way, Butler was named “Master of Design” by Fast Company and to Forbes’ “Executive Dream Team.” In 2012 he was asked to co-chair the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Design and Innovation. He has given keynotes around the world including Design Indaba in Capetown, the Web Summit in Dublin, The CEO Summit in Auckland, The Economist’s “Big Rethink” in London, and Hong Kong’s Design Week.