Vivek Rao

Vivek Rao is a lecturer at Berkeley Haas, where he teaches human-centered design, foresight, and innovation methods to MBA and EWMBA students. In addition to his work at Haas, he also teaches graduate and undergraduate courses at UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering in the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation. His early-stage innovation and R&D experience spans products, services, organizational transformation, and infrastructure. During his PhD study in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley, his research won multiple industry and academic awards. He also worked in Process Research and Development at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Wastewater Enterprise. Before his PhD, he worked as a designer and strategist at IDEO, where he helped Fortune 500 clients innovate in sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals to furniture.