Social enterprise is scaling up through innovative digital design of everything from robots to LEDs. The result has been a positive impact on clean water, sanitation, climate change and energy consumption. In this audio lecture, Carl Bass, President and CEO of Autodesk, discusses at Social Innovation Summit 2013 the application of design to solve social problems. Bass describes how the availability of infinite computing capacity combined with people’s willingness to share their knowledge of how to make things advances social entrepreneurship for everyone’s betterment. Inexpensive access to information and tools empowers more people to innovate through the principles of design that Bass explains. In this Social Innovation Conversations, Stanford University podcast, Bass shares examples of creative small businesses that advance social enterprise through innovation.
Carl Bass is president, chief executive officer and interim chief financial officer of Autodesk, a leader in 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software. Bass co-founded Ithaca Software, which was acquired by Autodesk in 1993. Since joining the company, he has held several executive positions including chief technology officer and chief operations officer. Bass serves on the boards of directors of Autodesk, Quirky and E2open; on the board of trustees of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum; and on the advisory boards of Cornell Computing and Information Science, UC Berkeley School of Information and UC Berkeley College of Engineering. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Cornell University. Bass is a maker and spends his spare time building things—from chairs and tables to boats, and most recently, an electric go-kart.