Ivy Ross is currently the chief design officer for Consumer Devices at Google. Since 2017, she and her team have launched a family of consumer hardware products ranging from smartphones to smart speakers, earning over 240 global design awards, including Fast Company declaring Google the most important design company in 2018. This product portfolio established a design aesthetic for technology products that is tactile, bold, emotional, and undeniably Google. Previously, Ross has held executive positions spanning from head of product design and development to CMO and presidencies with several companies, including Calvin Klein, Swatch, Coach, Mattel, Art.com, Bausch & Lomb, and Gap.
In 2023, Ross coauthored the book Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us which became a New York Times bestseller. She has been a contributing author to numerous books, including The Change Champion’s Field Guide and Best Practices in Leadership Development and Organizational Change. She has also been referenced in Ten Faces of Innovation, Rules of Thumb, and Unstuck, among other books. This includes being featured in 200 Women: Who Will Change The Way You See The World. Ross was a speaker at Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women Summit and has been cited by Businessweek as “one of the new faces of leadership.” In 2019, she was ranked ninth on Fast Company’s list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business.
A renowned artist, Ross’ innovative metal work in jewelry is in the permanent collections of 12 international museums. A winner of a National Endowment for the Arts grant, Ross has also received the Women in Design Award and Diamond International Award for her creative designs. Ross’ passion is human potential and relationships. Ross believes in the combination of art and science to make magic happen and bring great ideas and brands to life.
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us, by authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross, explores neuroaesthetics: how our brains and bodies transform when we participate in the arts. This New York Times bestseller explains how the arts and aesthetics can help us transform traditional medicine, build healthier communities, enhance learning, and mend an aching planet. Featuring conversations with artists such as David Byrne, Renée Fleming, and evolutionary biologist E. O. Wilson, the book includes breakthrough research and compelling stories about how the arts enhance our lives.
Arts & Wellbeing books are available for purchase in the Kennedy Center Gift Shop.
Arts & Wellbeing
Change Your Story, Change Your Life: A Class with IN-Q
Sun. Mar. 16, 2025
In this one-of-a-kind storytelling session, songwriter and national poetry slam champion IN-Q will guide attendees from performance and prompts into writing and sharing exercises.
Arts & Wellbeing
The Power of Poetry with IN-Q
Sun. Mar. 16, 2025
Award-winning poet IN-Q will take you on a journey through the mind, heart, and soul in this inspiring and entertaining spoken-word performance.
