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STRATEGY INNOVATION · INDUSTRIAL DESIGN · DFM · R&D · VBL
MIDEA GLOBAL SHIFTING
GLOBAL TRANSFORMATION FROM AN OEM PRODUCER TO A RELEVANT GLOBAL DESIGN BRAND
World’s largest home appliance company
Fortune 500 Company (#246)
Lens 02
Innovation
Strategy
Design-led
Insight · Portfolio · Governance · Brand
EB-1 Green Card holder | No sponsorship required
I reduce uncertainty before investment, turning insight into a portfolio the business can fund.
I build innovation governance: stage gates, decision criteria and roadmaps tied to business goals.
I translate consumer research into brand positioning and a visual brand language that scales.
I connect strategy to the factory, so what gets approved can actually be built.
At a glance
80+
international awards
1,000+
solutions launched
150+
countries
25+
patents & IP
20–25
people led in multidisciplinary teams
Design Voice
Authority
- 80+ international awards, including the prestigious iF, Red Dot, A’ Design, IDEA, Good Design and New York
- Recognized by the U.S. Government as “Extraordinary Ability” in Design & Innovation (Green Card EB-1)
- ARBO Design invited to serve on the iF Design Award and A’ Design Award & Competition juries
- Learning Facilitator at MIT Executive Programs (Innovation, Technology and AI Leadership)
- Speaker at dozens of keynotes, international industry forums, and design biennials & exhibitions
- Invited graduation speaker, MIT Digital Transformation & AI Leadership (2026)
- ARBO recognized as “World’s Best Home Appliance Studio” (D’AC, 2018)
- ARBO ranked among the Top 5 award-winning design studios in Latin America (2012–2022)
- Electrolux Creative Collection VBL concept named Product of the Year · Europe (Plus X Award, Germany)
- Contributed to Electrolux being named global “Most Innovative Brand” (Plus X Award, Germany)
Design & Innovation Process
Hands-on | End-to-end
3-stage model
01
Business
Strategy
Strategy
Vision, portfolio and investment decisions.
02
Innovation
Governance
Governance
Pipeline, stage gates, decision frameworks and IP.
03
Design Management
& Operations
& Operations
Teams, processes, standards, suppliers and manufacturing.
01discovery
Immersion &
Strategic
Alignment
Mandate, objectives and transformation ambition, grounded in field immersion and user research.
02strategy
Strategy &
Governance
Business Alignment
Business strategy and innovation governance across markets, technologies, trends and futures.
03definition
Enterprise Diagnosis
& Opportunities
Technology, data and AI diagnosis, turned into an insights and opportunities map.
04architecture
Visual Brand
Language (VBL) &
Design Systems
Strategic intelligence and value, design DNA, CMF + FFF and consistent design systems.
05workflow
Data-Driven
AI Strategy
MCP & API
Data-driven design augmentation, process automation and AI embedded in the product.
06ideation
Industrial / Digital
Design
Ideation
Sketching, CAD, UX/UI, form and ergonomics, plus technology architecture and digital capabilities.
07testing
Engineering,
Prototyping
& Validation
Product architecture, DFM/DFA, prototypes and testing, implementation, adoption and measurement.
08delivery
DFM, Tooling &
Manufacturing,
Staging / Deploying
Suppliers, tooling, tolerances and quality on the factory floor, through staging and deployment.
Design
Outcomes
Four layers that connect business decisions to the quality of the final product.
01Business innovation
Business strategy, innovation governance, portfolio thinking and decision frameworks.
02Design strategy
Research, human-centered experience, verbal-to-visual translation and design direction.
03Design operations
Methods, processes, standards, teams, engineering, suppliers and manufacturing.
04Design excellence
Form, proportion, CMF, FFF, materiality, detailing, sensory quality and VBL.
Innovation Strategy
Work
International awards & recognition
Innovation at a glance
$15M+
in design, production and positioning investment delivered
2,000+
SKU global portfolio strategy (Warner Bros. Discovery)
1,000+
in-depth U.S. consumer insights (Pelonis)
11
new categories at zero capex (Toromac)
86%
logistics gain, bottles per pallet (YABA)
50+
solutions pre-validated with synthetic users (SensAI)
4.5x
price uplift, USD 8 → 36/kg (Arminda)
70%
retailer revenue increase (Arminda)
30+
innovations & IP in the global innovation system (Electrolux)
60%
noise reduction by encapsulated motor (Ella)
1M
units sold in launch year (Nano, Electrolux)
47%
reduction in muscular effort (Exy One exoskeleton)
20,000+
physicians supported by the ecosystem (DocSolution)
38%
of factory output reallocated to new appliances (Toromac)
4
months to break-even (YABA)
Companies & partners I have worked with
Capabilities
- Innovation governance & stage gates
- Portfolio & roadmap strategy
- Consumer research & insights
- Brand positioning & VBL
- Opportunity mapping
- Design organization & operations
Recommendation
Strategy with technical depth
“Daniel’s approach combines deep strategic understanding with technical skills, making him an exceptional advisor in both strategy and design.”
Cross-functional leadership
“A leader capable of harmonizing strategic and operational design, developing solid interdepartmental relationships, and leading teams to excellence in innovation and design.”
Education
Domus AcademyMilan, Italy
Master in DesignMaster in Arts · 2007
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, United States
Digital Transformation & AI LeadershipExecutive Program Certification · 2025
Pontifical Catholic UniversityCuritiba, Brazil
Industrial DesignBachelor in Design · 2004
Further StudiesComplementary training
Hermeneutics & Exegesis (Postgraduate) · UNASP · 2024Music (Jazz Theory) · Curitiba Music Conservatory · 2022Aikido (Shodan Black Belt) · Aikikai Foundation Japan · 2013Engineering (Bachelor’s) · PUCPR · 1998
Shaping an innovation agenda in New York?
Contact
Los Angeles
New York
New York
Open to relocationFlexible start dateFull-time · Fractional · Advisory
Download resume (PDF)
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