PHIL GILBERT is best known for leading IBM's transformation as their General Manager of Design. After selling his third startup to IBM in 2010, Phil was asked by IBM in 2012 to use design thinking, coupled with agile, to update how IBM's teams worked. The transformation became the subject of a Harvard Business School case study, the documentary film The Loop and feature articles in the New York Times and Fortune magazine. Phil's 45-year career spans startups, large corporations, and board memberships, where he has led organizations ranging from solo ventures to those with 400,000 employees. In 2018, Phil was inducted into the New York Foundation for the Arts' Hall of Fame. In 2019, the State of Oklahoma (Phil's native state) named him an Oklahoma Creativity Ambassador for his achievements in the world of creative thinking and innovation. Phil retired from full-time operational responsibilities at IBM in 2022 in order to focus on helping the next generation of entrepreneurs, business, and military leaders understand how to impact culture at scale, to improve innovation and team performance. Phil lives in Austin, Texas.
