He started his career in 1990 as an industrial designer at Philips in the Netherlands, where he first designed medical devices and then consumer products. During his 19 years at Philips, he worked his way up to Head of Design and then moved on to design management. After a brief stint at Deutsche Telekom, he moved to the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in 2011, where he headed the Design Management course. Together with partners, he also founded the consulting agency Prenew, with which he advises companies on design management issues. In 2018, his book “Leading Design” was published by the Munich-based Vahlen Verlag, which is now considered the handbook for strategic application of design in companies. More information about Jan-Erik can be found at www.janerikbaars.com. Jan-Erik about himself: «I am on a mission: I want to help companies and designers make the most of their collaboration. To make this possible, I build bridges between design and management so that what belongs together comes together!»Jan-Erik Baars has been a member of the Vetica Group board of directors since 1 March 2020. Due to his many years of experience as a designer, design manager and strategy consultant, as well as professor for design management, he brings a great added value to our team.
