The Manhattan-based invention machine Quirky just became a little more inventive. Former frog design President Doreen Lorenzo joins the four-year-old product development company as president today.
Lorenzo, known for transforming frog into a global innovation firm during her 7 years as president there, was a speaker at the Techonomy 2011 and Techonomy 2012 conferences and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies.
Alongside Quirky founder and CEO Ben Kaufman, Lorenzo will lead research, design, and product development, the company said in a statement today.
Kaufman says Lorenzo “knows how to guide a creative organization through intense growth while keeping its spirit alive” and adds that her role will be key as the company, known for its kitchen gadgets, power strips, and cord organizers—393 products in all, so far—moves into more sophisticated categories like “smart home.”
Quirky’s global community of designers collaborate with each other and with in-house engineers to develop consumer products that are made available through Quirky.com as well as through retail partnerships with The Home Depot, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, and Amazon.com. Sharing revenue directly with the people who create and influence its products, the company has grown to 75 employees and a community of 528,000 inventors worldwide.
Lorenzo says she is “excited to become part of a movement that gives people access to design, allowing them to pursue it in a collaborative way.”
