In His Shoes

Stuart Weitzman’s passion for design has been a lifelong pursuit, leading to the internationally renowned company that bears his name. He has been honored extensively for his unique approach to entrepreneurship, and for his uncompromising commitment to prioritizing function as an integral element of fashion.

His shoes have dominated red carpet events for many years and are worn by celebrity fans around the world. Beyoncé, Kate Middleton, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, and Jennifer Lopez are just a few who are regularly seen in his designs, along with millions of other women in over 70 countries.

Weitzman approaches his extensive charitable endeavors with equal commitment. Among these are his ongoing support for a wide range of hospitals and medical research centers, youth and sports organizations, cultural institutions and museums. He regularly mentors students on their entrepreneurial and design aspirations at several universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Yale, Cal-Tech, Rice, Stanford, MIT, University of Chicago and the London Business School. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at Penn, where the university has honored him by renaming their design and architecture school the Stuart Weitzman School of Design.

During his free time you may find him on the tennis court or at the ping-pong table. If you’ve got a racket, he’ll welcome the challenge.

Svafa Grönfeldt is a professor of the practice in the MIT School of Architecture and Planning. She is a founding member and faculty director of MITdesignX, a program focused on design innovation and entrepreneurship.

She is a member of the board of directors of three publicly listed companies on Nasdaq OMX and the New York Stock Exchange. Prior to joining MIT, Grönfeldt was a member of a team that created two global life science companies. She is a former president of Reykjavik University, and holds a PhD from the London School of Economics. 

Applying the lens of design to complex problems is a focal point of her work. Driven by a need to understand the dynamic relationship between people and their environment, Grönfeldt combines her academic, entrepreneurial, and executive careers with her lifelong passion for design to develop ideas and new enterprises through design innovation and the development of design-based entrepreneurship theory and methods.