Design & Innovation talk by Phil White

Thursday, November 29, 2018 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Phil co-founded Cervelo Cycles with Gerard Vroomen in 1995. (the name Cervélo is a portmanteau of cervello, the Italian word for brain, and vélo, the French word for bike). Over the next ten years it became the engineering leader in the bike industry and, arguably, completed redefined it. With a focus on technical and marketing innovation, Cervelo grew from a garage startup to become the most popular triathlon bike in the world (based on the Ironman bike count) and the most popular bike in pro cycling (based on Cycling News reader polls). Tour Magazine recognized Cervélo as the continued engineering leader when they found it was the fastest bike in every category that they tested- aero road, lightweight road, and TT/triathlon. 

Cervélo was the first bike company in decades “to put our money where our mouth is”, and drive the sport forward by starting our own pro cycling team - the Cervélo Test Team- which became the #1 ranked team in the world within 6 months. But the Team also innovated in many other areas as well including fan engagement and product development as well as behind the scenes. 

After the sale of Cervélo to Pon Holdings in 2012, I stayed with Pon as the non-executive Chairman of Cervélo, and as a Board member & the Chief Innovation Officer of Pon Bike. In July 2017 Phil  left his positions at Pon and Cervélo to pursue other adventures in innovation, mobility, and performance. 

Phil continue to believe in the power of entrepreneurship, innovation, & design. He has been a guest lecturer on these topics at a variety of Universities and Colleges in Europe and America including, the University of Toronto, Ontario College of Art & Design University, Universities d’Ottawa, and École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). As well as an advisor and Board member to a number of companies and organizations, and has been a regular guest on various business & technical forums.

 

Venue & Address: 
115 McCaul Street, 2nd Floor
Cost: 
Free
Digital Screen: