Rodrigo Bautista

Principal, Innovation and Design

Background

My work is at the intersection of futures techniques, human-centered design, and technology. I am passionate about our work driving cutting-edge practices in system innovation and leading experimental design and sustainability projects for clients, using creative methods and approaches to challenge and inspire change.

Over 12 years of industry experience strategically applying design and innovation processes in digital, retail, telecoms, consumer goods and user participation projects. My specialties are design research, futures innovation, sustainability advice, and stakeholder relationship. He also worked for and with Rockefeller Foundation, Unilever, City of Palo Alto, Sony, Innovate UK, Telmex, Target, Ecover, Nesta, Target and Leo Burnett.

Recently I’ve been collaborating with the City of Palo Alto and Dell exploring how open data can enable sustainable mobility in cities with the Mobility Scale Lab project. This project is a study to examine the environmental and societal impact of new mobility solutions in New York and Dublin using open data.

I also have worked with Sony and a variety of experts on Futurescapes which is a platform to explore how technology can enable sustainable lifestyles in 2025.

In the past, I worked in telecommunications, product and service development and advertising, with companies like Telmex/America Movil and Leo Burnett. But I soon realised this wasn’t quite what I wanted for my career. So, I decided to travel by land from Mexico City to Ushuaia (the end of the world in the Southern Argentina) and study sustainability with people in local communities along the way.

After that fantastic odyssey, I moved to the UK to do an MA in Sustainability and Design - happily merging all my design experience with my passion for sustainability. In 2011 I co-founded Engage by Design a sustainable design research studio which focusses on the use of design as a tool for change. I also helped organise ‘Designers Accord’ town halls in the UK which helps change the way the creative community does business and 'Good for Nothing' a community and social innovation hackathon in New York.

My dream project?

My dream project would involve collaboration between city experts, technology geeks, and social shamans thinking globally and acting locally.

What floats your boat outside work? I really enjoy historical novels especially those by Paco Ignacio Taibo II or essays from Eduardo Galeano or Julio Cortazar’s. I like to watch science fiction films, especially sagas, and at the moment I’m into swimming, cycling and running, better known as triathlons this year I ran my first two!

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Contact Rodrigo

Latest

Advancing climate justice: A call to action for businesses

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Business Guide to Advancing Climate Justice

The Business Guide to Advancing Climate Justice, co-published by Forum for the Future and B Lab U.S. is designed for businesses that are working to address the climate crisis by using equity-centered solutions.
Love, futures and philanthropy: Why giving in a polycrisis needs to start from the heart

How do love, futures and philanthropy intersect, and why is this intersection so critical in tackling complex challenges in a polycrisis? Hannah Pathak, Forum’s International Managing Director, explores more in this blog.
Why organisations must prioritise climate and health in 2024 – and how some already are

Following World Health Day this past Sunday, Hannah Pathak, Forum’s International Managing Director and co-director of the Climate and Health Coalition, shares findings from a recent network roundtable about how organisations are focusing on climate and health in 2024, and why taking action now is more urgent than ever.

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