Chris Cowart

Chris Cowart is a futurist, innovation leader, and venture investor.  

Over a 14 year career at IDEO, he pioneered the human factors and user research disciplines in the design industry; launched many ‘first of their categories’ like Tivo and Handspring; innovated for big brands like BMW, Medtronic, Pfizer, and Walmart; established new IDEO locations in Boulder + Munich; founded the Health + Wellness practice; created fundamental content around behavior change; and incubated a number of successfully venture backed companies.

In 2014, Chris joined the Montage Ventures team as a Venture Partner.  He engages in deal diligence and across the seed stage portfolio to advise on product, design, brand, and business topics.

He serves as design & corporate innovation faculty at Singularity University in Silicon Valley.  Chris also collaborates with the FWD team in San Francisco as Executive Editor for futurist content on sports and healthcare.  

Chris received a bachelors degree in Human Factors from Tufts University, and a masters degree in business from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He lives in Woodside, California, with his family, where he serves as a trustee at Phillips Brooks School in Menlo Park. Outside the office, he is a competitive athlete in cyclocross and enjoys kitesurfing. 

Expertise

• Brainstorming
• Design
• Processes