“I had the pleasure to work with Jeff in late 2008. Senior leadership directed my newly formed team to Jeff for counsel and guidance as we designed and deployed an innovative business model focused on delivering international solutions. Jeff's thought leadership, innovative ideas and facilitation skills are key reasons the solutions group is a success within the company. I found Jeff's innovation methods so unique and intriguing I have had Jeff visit a Principles of Management course I teach at a local University to offer his views and experience on innovation. The student reviews are consistently positive regarding Jeff's session on innovation. Jeff is one of the most well rounded, insightful professionals I've had the pleasure to work with.” - Don Addison, SVP Knowledge Management Executive, Bank of America
“Jeff is a fantastic person to have on any team. Jeff, while at IDEO, helped to lead the HopeLab team on a creative project while working within a very limited timeframe. The project was completed on time, within budget and with very successful results. It was my pleasure to have worked with him. If you're reading this and have a chance to work with him or hire him on, I'd definitely recommend it. His enthusiasm and positive energy helped him as a facilitator to keep a fun, high tempo atmosphere that kept all parties highly engaged and motivated. My only regret is that Linked In only allows us to choose three attributes that best describe a persons character. I have found that all of those attributes can be found in him. Thanks again Jeff! Top qualities: Great Results , Personable , Creative” - Tony Ramos, Lead Producer, HopeLab
“Jeff was a pleasure to work with. A great motivator, team lead and full of innovative ideas. Hope to work together in the future!” - Ximena O’Reilly, Vice President / Group Director, LPK
“I have worked with Jeff for 5 or 6 years at IDEO. He is a star. He has the sharp mind of an inventor. He leads design and engineering teams with skill and humor. He interfaces with clients extremely confidently and competently. He can prototype concepts in physical and virtual media as well as anyone at IDEO. He is excellent at leading brainstorming sessions and workshops. I am happy to be a strong reference for Jeff. dennis@ideo.com” - Dennis Boyle, Principal, IDEO
“Jeffrey embodies the values that make IDEO great. The three things that stand out for me in Jeffrey's approach to leadership are his optimism, his ability to roll up his sleeves and execute, and finally his ability to be persuasive with his ideas. His optimism means that he approaches his work with the sense that it makes a difference. When he designs for kids, he makes things that are fun first, and always based on some truth about what kids want and need - that a toy can make a difference. Second - execution. For me this takes the form of Jeffrey's formidable prototyping capabilities - bringing things to life by making them real. He always told me that "when people start talking with their hands, it is time to put something in their hands." Which means that sound decisions get made faster, and the things that get to market are more likely to be successful. Finally, persuasiveness. I tapped Jeffrey several times to share his wisdom with clients about the best ways to get executives to engage with ideas. The stories he shared are both funny and true, and contain a lot of wisdom about how making a difference gets done.” - Charles Warren, Transformation Practice Lead, IDEO
“Nearly every time I worked with Jeff at IDEO it was under adverse conditions, like brainstorming on a dry topic with no preparation or presenting on "The IDEO Design Process" to a large group of tired clients. But let me tell you, ambiguity and fatigue have met their match. Without fail, Jeff can enliven any group experience with his wit, his energy and his knack for telling stories. He can offer up new ideas at a rapid clip. And he can quickly spot ideas with real innovation potential. No surprise really... Jeff connects the dots so quickly because he is intelligent, experienced and versatile. He has a clear track record of authoring new product concepts, working through detail-level design problems, managing a portfolio of innovations, and performing successfully in a broad range of consulting roles. Put it all together and he's seriously competent.” - Melody Roberts, Project Manager & Client Liaison, IDEO
“Jeff was a key member of the growing Zero20 group he was a lead in. Jeff is a 'finisher' which is great in a world full of starters. He has very deep experience in innovation processes, and is excellent at leading or collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams to deliver insightful consumer experiences and identify new business opportunities. It's a shame we don't have an IDEO office near his new home town because there's no doubt he'd be working with us still!” - Santiago Matheus, Business Development Director, IDEO
“Jeff is a tremendous creative asset on any team. Brainstorming was a way of life at IDEO and I was always glad to see Jeff join a brainstorm I was in because I knew he'd have some of the most creative ideas. He is smart, professional, has a great deal of positive energy, and inspires the people he works with. Top notch.” - Chris Miksovsky, Product Designer, IDEO
“I worked to sell Jeffrey's house before his move to the East Coast. From the moment I saw his house for the first time, I knew I was working with someone with talent. Normally, in the city where Jeffrey's house was located, substantial work would be required to prepare a house for sale. Prior to my arrival, Jeffrey had transformed what was a humble 'cottage' into what the the largest newspaper in the San Francisco Bay Area (San Jose Mercury News) featured as one of their "Fantasy Homes" normally reserved for multi-million dollar estates. It was chosen for it's quality workmanship and design appeal...all either done directly by Jeffrey or under his guidance. The house "showed" so well, it became known among my colleagues as "the one with the beautiful kitchen"! Literally the only staging I did (almost every house in our market requires staging) was to add an orchid as the centerpiece to his dining room table. Many prospective clients inquired who had done the staging and if the sellers would be willing to include all the decor. Jeffrey has a unique ability to combine practicality with aesthetic...any company would benefit greatly from his talents. My background in both the internet world as well as brick and mortar retail tells me: "Hire this guy...find a spot for him and turn him loose!" Owen Halliday 650-492-0062” - Owen Halliday, Realtor, Coldwell Banker