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The team leading our work

Cumulus is led by a dedicated team of art and design educators from around the world.

The Cumulus Executive Board

The Cumulus Executive Board (CEB), is a group of experienced academic leaders elected from Cumulus full member institutions worldwide. The Cumulus board serves in a volunteer capacity for three year terms.

Meet the Board

The current Cumulus Executive Board (CEB VIII) was elected during the General Assembly on June 16, 2022. Their three-year mandate concludes in June 2025.

  • Biography

Cumulus President

Lorenzo Imbesi, PhD

Full Professor and Sapienza Design Research Director, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

[email protected]

Lorenzo was elected President of Cumulus during the virtual General Assembly of June 2022 after serving two consecutive terms on the Board (CEB VII and CEB VI). As an architect and scholar with an esteemed trajectory contributing to the research field for design internationally through graduate education, publications, and conferences, Lorenzo has steered important efforts to create spaces for design research discourse and practice to thrive within the Cumulus community.

Most recently, he has extended his work as co-founder and co-chair of the ReveDa (Research Vectors in Design and Art) Cumulus Working Group by proposing and helping conceive the Cumulus Ph.D. Network that the association launched in 2020, an initiative he chairs. Lorenzo is an active participant of the Executive Board’s conference subcommittee and has been instrumental in leveraging his deep academic connections to expand the association’s membership in Italy, Europe, and Canada. Cumulus’ partnership with the Design Principles and Practices Research Network is a tribute to his introductory efforts. In 2021, Lorenzo co-chaired and delivered the Design Culture(S) Cumulus Roma conference hosted by Sapienza University. With a development arc of several years, Design Culture(s) is the first conference that Cumulus has brought to its members fully virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in this sense stands out as an important milestone for innovation and accomplishment for the association. 

As a Full Professor at La Sapienza University and chair of the Design Unit and Design Curriculum of the Ph.D. program as well as the Sapienza Design Research Interdepartmental Centre, Lorenzo continues to be an international keynote speaker, organizer, and active participant in educational initiatives, global conferences, and academic centers in the international design research community. Lorenzo brings a vast academic global experience to his teaching and research: he is currently a member of the Board of the Italian Society of Design SID, and a member of the Executive Board of EAD (European Academy of Design) since 2011. Among several international appointments, Lorenzo served as an ICCS fellow with the Canadian Government for two consecutive years, and a member of the Research Board of National and European researches (AHRB/EPSRC, CEE-COST), and coordinator of the ‘Programa Alta Formacion de Cuadros Dirigentes de los Paises del Mercosur’ from 2006 to 2009. He has served as a visiting professor for a number of international universities—including Hong Kong Polytechnic, University of San Diego, Emily Carr University, University of Calgary, and the University of Toronto, among others. Prior to his current role as a Full Professor at Sapienza University of Rome, Lorenzo served as an Associate Professor and the Graduate Coordinator of the Master of Design MDes at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada until 2013. Lorenzo’s contributions as an author, critic, and essayist may be found across many peer-reviewed journals. He is editor of ‘Design Principles and Practices: an International Journal’ (Common Ground Publishing, Chicago), director of ‘FIELDS. An Interdisciplinary Design Journal and member of the editorial advisory board of “The Design Journal” (Bloomsbury Publishing, London). Lorenzo’s publications include “Nomad+Design. 1. Categories” (2016), “Nomad+Design. 2. Phenomena” (2016), “Design for Social Innovation in Canada” (2016), “InterAction by Design” (2009), “09 YoungDesign” (2009), “Ethics & Design” (2008), and “D_Generation” (2007). 

Lorenzo holds a Ph.D. in Design from Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

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Board

Miaosen Gong, PhD

Associate Professor, School of Design, Jiangnan University, China

Read the Board Member’s CV.

Board

Nicola Morelli, PhD

Professor, Aalborg University, Denmark

Read the Board Member’s CV.

Board

Anne Pikkov

Vice Rector of Academic Affair, Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia

Read the Board Member’s CV.

Board

Satu Miettinen, PhD

Professor, Dean, University of Lapland, Finland

Read Board Member’s CV.

Board

Natacha Lallemand, PhD

Head of International Affairs, Professor, École Duperré, Paris Institute of Art and Design, France

Read the Board Member’s CV.

Board

Archana Surana

Founder-Director, ARCH College of Design and Business, India

Read the Board Member’s CV.

Board

Makoto Watanabe, PhD

Vice President, Chiba University, Japan

Read the Board Member’s CV.

Board

Roberto Iniguez Flores, PhD

Dean, National School of Architecture, Art and Design, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico

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Board

Teresa Franqueira, PhD

Associate Professor, University of Aveiro, Portugal

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Board

Monica Di Ruvo, PhD

Senior Lecturer, Head of Department of Applied Design, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Read the Board Member’s CV.

The Secretariat Team

The Cumulus Secretariat counts on a dynamic team of individuals from The School of Arts, Design and Architecture at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland, the current host institution of Cumulus.

This full-time team manages day-to-day operations to support the mission of Cumulus and its members.

Our work at the Secretariat is all about carrying forth our mandate to support our members, make connections and mobilize the community to participate in various moments and venues for global dialogue and the …

development of education and research in our disciplines of art, design and media. The Secretariat is here to serve as a hub for the success of our association and all of its members.”

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Secretary General

Eija Salmi, FRSA

+358 40 512 0302

[email protected]

Eija is the founding Secretary General of Cumulus. In her senior role, she serves as the key administrative contact for all Cumulus members. She collaborates with the Cumulus President and the Executive Board to execute the mandate of the association’s strategic plan and the association’s members. In her management capacity, Eija oversees the operations and staff of the Secretariat. She facilitates many member activities such as Cumulus Working Groups and the association’s participation in key international initiatives such The Design Declaration and Cumulus’ partnership with The New European Bauhaus, among many others. In consultation with the Cumulus President, Eija plays an ongoing ambassadorial role for the association, conducting strategic outreach to develop new partnerships and membership opportunities, and representing the association in key International venues, committees and with sister organizations.

Eija helped shape her position as Cumulus SG when she joined TaiK (before it became Aalto University) to head the internationalization of the School and running its international affairs, while supporting Cumulus President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Design Innovation Yrjö Sotamaa and Professor Emeritus of Industrial Design Raimo Nikannen in their conception of Cumulus. Prior to her role with Cumulus, Eija worked in business administration. Eija serves as the chairperson for the Board of the Foundation of The Finnish Institute in Berlin. In 2020, Eija was recognized by the Royal Society for Arts with their prestigious FRSA fellowship, a tribute to Eija’s tireless advocacy of internationalization in the arts and design higher education fields.

In 2021, Eija was formally recognized among a group of 100 international women leaders by the Global Council for International Trade Promotion in India (CGPIT) for her service to fostering a culture of diverse and inclusive values in global art, design and media education and research. 

Eija holds a Masters of Arts degree (Art History and German Philology) from the University of Helsinki and an undergraduate diploma from the Helsinki College of Commerce. Watch Eija’s testimonial about the early days of the Cumulus association in this interview celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Cumulus here

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Coordinator

Justyna Molik

+358 50 434 4765

[email protected]

A seasoned contributor in the Secretariat serving Cumulus members since 2008, Justyna lends senior administrative and strategic communication support to the Secretariat’s operations and helps manage a select number of signature initiatives, such as the Cumulus website and monthly Newsletter, the Cumulus Green Student Competition, the Cumulus Student Ambassador and the Cumulus Plus Grant programs.

In her coordinator capacity, she helps design and coordinate optimal processes that ensure the timely and effective execution of many of these and other financial and business activities that touch members. She also serves as the Secretariat operations liaison for the conference management teams among the Cumulus member institutions who host the two annual Cumulus conferences, working closely to advise them on conference best practices and Cumulus member programming. Before joining Cumulus, Justyna worked as an International HR Coordinator, Interpreter/Translator (Polish-Finnish-English) and a Language Teacher. 

Justyna holds a MSSc in Sociology (Cultural Policy) from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, and a MA in Philology (Scandinavian Studies) from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland.

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Board Advisors

Cumulus is fortunate to count on the institutional wisdom of its former board members. Board advisors are members of the board who have concluded their term of service and continue engaging for another term with the President and current board to lend their expertise on Cumulus-related initiatives.

Board Advisor

Philipp Heidkamp

Professor, Köln International School of Design (KISD), Germany; Cumulus Vice President and Board Member (CEB VII, 2019–2022)

Professor Philipp Heidkamp was elected into the Cumulus Board in 2019 and served one term in the capacity as Vice President. In this role he was a thought-partner to former President Mariana Amatullo on the Association’s governance and strategic direction.

Philipp leveraged his deep expertise in information design and internationalization by spearheading the Association’s efforts to build a digital ecosystem for its members with a vision of creating distributed virtual convenings and meaningful dialogue. The CumulusConnects micro-site, an interactive virtual portal that preceded the new Cumulus website, was launched in September 2020 as an agile response to the new realities of interrupted global travel and the cancellation of on-site conferences brought about by the pandemic; the site became a blueprint for the interaction dimensions of the current website. The “global conversation” series originally launched in the CumulusConnects; work to support Cumulus Working Groups and the chairing of  the Leadership and Strategy Working Group were all part of Philipp’s contributions to the community. Initiatives such as community-building work in the C+NEB initiative as part of Cumulus New European Bauhaus and active contributions in  Board subcommittees (i.e.conference, new website and registration committees) benefited greatly from Philipp’s active and dedicated service to Cumulus. Towards the end of his term, Philipp was instrumental in partnering with President Amatullo on finalizing the Amendment of the Statutes with legal counsel and leading the negotiations of the Association with Aalto University ahead of the Service Agreement renewal.

As Professor at Köln International School of Design (KISD) Philipp is currently responsible for the international strategy of the School. His domains of design expertise, teaching, and research touch on information and interface design, interaction design, and the digital aspects and opportunities of urban transformations in a globalized world.

Philipp holds a degree (German Diplom) in Visual Communication Design from the HfG University of Design Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany.

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Cumulus Honorary Presidents

Cumulus Presidents are granted the lifetime title of Cumulus Honorary President. They represent a source of institutional wisdom and counsel that we celebrate and call upon on an ongoing basis.

Cumulus Honorary President

Mariana Amatullo, PhD

Cumulus President 2019–2022; Vice Provost and Associate Professor, Parsons School of Design, The New School, USA

Dr. Mariana Amatullo became the fourth Cumulus President and the first President of the Association to come from a non-European-based institution when she was elected in 2019. During her tenure, she led a disciplined process of organizational capacity building and transformation—one accelerated by the onslaught of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

She led the Association by establishing the strategic plan, Cumulus at 30, guiding the Board to work in sub-committees to accomplish its goals. Her hands-on work as President included acting as the creative director and digital strategist and securing in-kind donations and partnerships for the Cumulus Green 2020 student competition, shaping the editorial strategy for the Association’s monthly newsletter; overseeing the launch of a new brand identity for Cumulus, and serving as a lead editor in the Board subcommittee that commissioned and implemented the launch of the Cumulus new website in 2021. Other notable projects under her oversight included building a visual archive and timeline about the Association’s history and producing the Cumulus at 30 Anniversary Campaign. In the last year of her mandate, she facilitated a complex legal and participatory process with her Board and members to update the statutes of the Association and successfully transition Cumulus to legal independent registration status as a non-profit Association in Finland.

Mariana is an experienced academic administrator, strategist, and award-winning educator, researcher, and author with a global trajectory of scholarship in design management and design for social innovation. At The New School, a key area of her focus as Vice Provost has been to launch the division of Parsons Executive Education and to expand online learning and nondegree courses as well as global partnerships for Executive-level Master programs. Previously, Mariana co-founded and led the social innovation department, Designmatters, at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Mariana is a member of the Board of Aalto University. Her honors include being the recipient of the inaugural 2012 DELL Social Innovation Award for Outstanding Social Innovation Education, a Salzburg Global Fellow, and a Fellow with the Royal Society of the Arts. Mariana is the author and editor of several academic journal articles, book chapters, and publications that address the role of designers as agents of societal transformation. Her latest book (co-editor) is Design for Social Innovation: Case Studies from around the World, (Routledge,2021).  

Mariana holds a Ph.D. in Management (Designing Sustainable Systems) from Case Western Reserve University; an M.A. in Art History and Museum Studies from the University of Southern California, and a License en Lettres Degree from the Sorbonne University, Paris, where she also studied Art History at L’Ecole du Louvre. A native of Argentina and the child of a diplomat, Mariana is trilingual (Spanish, French, and English) and grew up around the world. 

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Cumulus Honorary President

Luisa Collina, PhD

Cumulus President 2010-2013; re-elected 2013-2016 Full Professor and Former Dean of Design, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Luisa was the first woman to be elected President of Cumulus in 2010 after serving two consecutive terms in the Cumulus Executive Board. One of the important contributions of her presidency was to undertake a systematic strategy to maintain the friendly and family atmosphere of the association while developing new policies and initiatives to help Cumulus codify processes to serve members inclusively and transparently.

As part of this work, she led the Board’s work to update the association’s statutes and establish a formal hosting agreement with Aalto University for the Cumulus Secretariat. 

Luisa most recently served as Dean of Design at Politecnico di Milano. Previously and starting in 2005, she established and led a Master’s program (taught in English) in Product-Service-System Design and has occupied important administrative leadership service positions on behalf of her university. Luisa’s teaching, research, and practice relate to interior architecture and design focus on services, strategic design, and design-driven innovation. Her curation of exhibitions, scholarship and award-winning work are featured on an ongoing basis in international conferences and publications such as prominent contributions to the Universal Expo 2015 for the 150th anniversary of Politecnico di Milano and the Triennale Design Museum, the XXI Triennale Internazionale held in Milan in 2016, and others. 

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Cumulus Honorary President

Christian Guellerin

Cumulus President 2008-2010; re-elected 2007-2010 Executive Director, L’Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique, France

Christian has held the position of Executive Director of L’École de design Nantes Atlantique, since 1997. Under his two terms as President, Cumulus became a global association (2006) and experienced significant growth, going from 80 to 178 members.

One of the highlights of Christian’s mandate was the signing of the “Kyoto Design Declaration” in 2008, a manifesto reflecting the responsibilities of designers towards the challenges of sustainable development. Christian’s has an active international career of consulting, lecturing, and publishing. He was appointed Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia for the West of France in 2009 and Knight of the National Order of Merit in 2016. 

 

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Cumulus Honorary President

Yrjö Sotamaa

Cumulus President Emeritus and Founder; Cumulus President 2001-2004; re-elected 2004-2007 President and Professor Emeritus, University of Art and Design Helsinki (TaiK), Finland

A deep conviction has animated Yrjö’s academic trajectory and practice for over forty years in building cooperation platforms between the world’s design universities. In 1990, he took the initiative to establish the CUMULUS Network, which became the International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design, and Media CUMULUS in 2001.

Yrjö served as President and Professor of the University Art and Design Helsinki (TAIK) for twenty-two years and retired in August 2008. During this period, TAIK became one of the world’s leading art and design universities. He had a major influence on the Finnish University Reform in 2010 and created the Aalto University through the merger of three leading universities in Finland. He has been a key architect of the Finnish National Design Strategy and played a pivotal role in shaping the User-driven Innovation Strategy of the European Union. He is now continuing his work through many major efforts: Advisory Dean and Tongji-Forever Chair Professor in College of Design & Innovation at Tongji University, Chairman of Sotamaa Design Ltd, and Chairman of Radical Design Week Association RDWA. He is a member of the Court of the Royal College of Art. He is the recipient of multiple awards and honors and a member of several international committees and initiatives. 

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Past Executive Board Members

The strength of the Cumulus Association is due in no small part to the contributions of its former boards. In gratitude to their service all hold the lifetime appointment of Cumulus Board Fellows.

  • President Amatullo (2019–2022)
  • President Collina (2013–2019)
  • President Guellerin (2007–2013)
  • President Sotamaa (2001–2007)
Cumulus Executive Board VII 2019–2022
Elected May 30, 2019, Rovaniemi, Finland
  1. José Allard, PhD, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile
  2. Adam de Eyto, PhD, Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (TUS), Ireland
  3. Philipp Heidkamp, Köln International School of Design (KISD), Germany
  4. Lorenzo Imbesi, PhD, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
  5. Michael Krohn, Zȗrich University of the Arts (ZHdK), Switzerland
  6. Teemu Leinonen, PhD, Aalto University, Finland
  7. Anne Pikkov, Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia
  8. Rachel K. B. Troye, The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO), Norway
  9. Robin Turner, Greenside Design Center, South Africa
  10. Xiao Yong, Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), China
Cumulus Executive Board V 2013–2016
Elected June 8, 2013, Kalmar, Sweden
  1. Mariana Amatullo, ArtCenter College of Design, Los Angeles, USA
  2. Sara Hyltén-Cavallius, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden
  3. Signe Kivi, Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn, Estonia
  4. Sam Bucolo, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
  5. Elsebeth Gerner-Nielsen, Designschool, Kolding, Denmark
  6. Annabel Pretty, UNITEC, Auckland, New Zealand
  7. Ulrich Schendzielorz, University of Design, Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany
  8. Virginia Tassinari, LUCA School of the Arts, Genk, Belgium
  9. Andres Villela, DuoCUC, Santiago, Chile
Cumulus Executive Board VI 2016–2019
Elected April 30, 2016, Nottingham, UK
  1. José Allard, PUC, Chile
  2. Mariana Amatullo, ArtCenter College of Design, USA (through 2017) and Parsons School of Design, The New School, USA (2017-2019)
  3. Sara Hyltén-Cavallius, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden
  4. Lorenzo Imbesi, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
  5. Sam Bucolo, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
  6. Elsebeth Gerner-Nielsen, Designschool, Kolding, Denmark
  7. Ulrich Schendzielorz, University of Design, Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany
  8. Rachel K.B. Troye, AHO Oslo School of Architecture and Design, Norway
  9. Robin Turner, Greenside Design Center and College, Johannesburg, South Africa
  10. Xiao Yong, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, P.R. China
Cumulus Executive Board III 2007–2010
Elected June 16, 2007, Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany
  1. Michael Krohn, Zürich University of Art and Design, Switzerland
  2. Luisa Collina, Politecnico di Milano Politecnico di Milano, Italy
  3. Marjolijn Brussaard, Utrecht School of the Arts, the Netherlands
  4. Helmut Lueckenhausen, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
  5. Cristina Salerno, University of Design, Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany
  6. Thomas Schødt-Rasmussen, Danmarks Designskole/P-O Landgren HDK Gothenburg Sweden (since GA 2008)
  7. Raimo Nikkanen, University of Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland
  8. Luk van der Hallen, Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg KHLiM, Genk, Belgium
  9. Fred Murrell, RMCAD, Denver, USA
  10. Yong Xiao, Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing, P.R. China
Cumulus Executive Board IV 2010–2013
Elected May 29, 2010, Genk, Belgium
  1. Marjolijn Brussaard, Utrecht School of the Arts, the Netherlands
  2. Luisa Collina, Politecnico di Milano Politecnico di Milano, Italy
  3. Signe Kivi, Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn, Estonia
  4. Helmut Lueckenhausen, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
  5. Raimo Nikkanen, Aalto University School of Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland
  6. Jacqueline Otten, Zürich University of the Arts ZHdK, Switzerland
  7. Annébel Pretty, UNITEC, Auckland, New Zealand
  8. Peter Stebbing, University of Design, Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany
  9. Virginia Tassinari, Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg KHLiM, Belgium
  10. Yongqi Lou, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China
Cumulus Executive Board I 2001–2004
Elected March 21, 2001, Rotterdam, Netherlands
  1. Robin Baker, Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, London, UK
  2. Sasa Mächtig, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
  3. Gérard Vallin, Ecole Supérieure d’Arts Graphiques et d’Architecture Intérieure-Design ESAG-Penninghen, Paris, France
  4. Michele Capuani, Istituto Europeo di Design, Milan, Italy
  5. Gösta Knudsen, Danmarks Designskoe, Copenhagen, Denmark
  6. Tove Kjaer, National College of Art and Design, Oslo, Norway
  7. Raimo Nikkanen, University of Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland
Cumulus Executive Board II 2004–2007
Elected May 8, 2004, Oslo, Norway
  1. Gösta Knudsen, Danmarks Designskole, Copenhagen, Denmark
  2. Sasa Mächtig, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
  3. Michele Capuani, Istituto Europeo di Design Milan, Milan, Italy
  4. Tove Kjaer, National College of Art and Design Oslo Norway, Oslo, Norway
  5. Michael Krohn, Zürich University of Art and Design, Switzerland
  6. Gérard Vallin, ESAG, Paris, France
  7. Per-Olof Landgren, HDK, Gothenburg, Sweden
  8. Luk van der Hallen, Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg KHLiM, Genk, Belgium

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