Mauro Porcini

Mauro Porcini
Mauro Porcini · CC BY 2.0 · source
Name	Mauro Porcini
Birth date	1969
Birth place	Milan, Italy
Occupation	Industrial designer, Chief Design Officer
Employer	PepsiCo
Alma mater	Politecnico di Milano

Mauro Porcini

Mauro Porcini is an Italian industrial designer and corporate executive known for leading design at multinational corporations and for contributions to product, service, and experience design. He has held senior roles that intersect with global brands, consumer products, and strategic innovation across Europe and North America. Porcini's career spans collaborations with design firms, academic institutions, and global consumer goods companies.

Early life and education

Born in Milan, Italy, Porcini studied industrial design at the Politecnico di Milano, a technical university associated with figures such as Santiago Calatrava alumni and institutions like the Milan Triennale. During his formative years he engaged with Italian industrial culture linked to firms like Olivetti and design movements involving designers such as Dieter Rams and Gio Ponti. His education coincided with exposure to European design networks including exhibitions at the Salone del Mobile and collaborations with studios influenced by practitioners like Philippe Starck and Marcello Morandini. Early mentors and peers from the Politecnico di Milano network later connected him to multinational consultancies and studios operating across Milan, London, and New York City.

Career

Porcini began his professional career in design consultancies that worked for clients in the Automotive and consumer electronics sectors, collaborating with companies such as Fiat and Philips alongside agencies similar to Frog Design and IDEO. He later founded a design studio in Milan which partnered with brands across Europe and Asia, engaging with clients comparable to Samsung and Lego. In 2012 he joined PepsiCo as the company’s first Chief Design Officer, a role that placed him within executive circles including Indra Nooyi and later Ramon Laguarta. At PepsiCo he led global design teams across product categories connected to subsidiaries like Frito-Lay and brands such as Pepsi-Cola, Lay's, and Quaker Oats Company. His remit covered collaboration with supply chains and marketing groups tied to agencies like WPP and Omnicom Group while reporting to senior executives and board members in multinational corporate governance contexts.

Porcini has taught and lectured at academic institutions including the Savannah College of Art and Design and guest lectured at conferences associated with organizations such as SXSW and TEDx. He has also served on juries and advisory boards for competitions and organizations like Red Dot and ICFF, engaging with global design communities in New York City, Milan, and London.

Design philosophy and notable works

Porcini advocates for human-centered design practices rooted in cross-disciplinary collaboration, drawing on precedents from designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Naoto Fukasawa, and Norman Foster. His philosophy emphasizes the integration of industrial design, packaging design, and brand experience, aligning product aesthetics with manufacturing realities analogous to partnerships between Pininfarina and Ferrari. Notable projects at PepsiCo included redesign initiatives for packaging systems for snack and beverage portfolios, store display concepts implemented in retail channels like Walmart and Tesco, and experiential installations presented at trade events such as CES and the New York International Auto Show.

His studio work encompassed furniture and consumer-goods prototypes exhibited at venues like the Milan Furniture Fair and collaborated with manufacturers similar to Kartell and Cassina. Porcini has been involved in service-design programs that intersect with digital platforms developed by companies like Microsoft and Google for user-experience research and has worked on sustainability-driven packaging strategies resonant with initiatives from UN Environment Programme partners and corporate sustainability frameworks used by firms like Unilever.

Awards and recognition

Porcini's work has been recognized by organizations and award programs including Red Dot Design Award, iF Design Award, and listings in publications such as Fast Company and Forbes. He has been profiled in business and design media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Bloomberg Businessweek for his role in integrating design into corporate strategy. Industry peers and associations like The Design Management Institute and AIGA have cited his advocacy for design leadership in large corporations.

Publications and speaking engagements

Porcini has contributed essays and opinion pieces to outlets including Wired, Fast Company, and Harvard Business Review-adjacent platforms on topics of design leadership, brand experience, and sustainable packaging. He has been a keynote speaker at industry conferences such as SXSW, TEDx, D&AD, and C2 Montréal, and has participated in panel discussions hosted by institutions like MoMA and Cooper Hewitt that focus on design and consumer culture. His talks often reference case studies involving major brands like Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay, and Lay's.

Personal life and philanthropy

Porcini resides between New York City and Milan, maintaining ties to design communities in both cities and to international networks in London and Los Angeles. He has supported philanthropic initiatives and foundations focused on design education and social innovation, collaborating with NGOs and cultural institutions similar to Design for Good, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and university scholarship programs at the Politecnico di Milano. Porcini has participated in mentorship programs and design workshops aimed at emerging designers connected with organizations such as Design Management Institute and AIGA.

Category:Italian industrial designers Category:Politecnico di Milano alumni