By Holly Burns
Issue 7 Spring 2011
David Rodriguez is President and COO at Integrated Design Solutions, a successful contract furniture dealership operating out of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, US Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands markets. Rodriguez continually uses design to formulate strategies for development of the company’s processes and procedures, which ultimately shapes IDS’s most competitive advantage.
Before he became a graduate of the Pratt Design Management program in 1996, Rodriguez obtained a BFA in Industrial Design from the University of Kansas School of Art and Design. He regularly speaks at educational and professional associations about design as the “new MBA and the driving force behind the success of companies.”
Recently, Integrated Design Solution was awarded the honor to partner with the New School of Architecture at the Catholic University of Puerto Rico to complete the University’s most ambitious program, where state of the art furniture was the catalytic element between the interior of a monumentally restored structure, the students and faculty.
In addition, Integrated Design Solutions was recognized as the best dealer of the international division of Teknion Furniture Systems, the largest designer and manufacturer of contract office furniture in Canada. According to Mark Dodick, Teknion’s VP of international markets, “Integrated Design Solutions, has developed a unique business model where design is the driving force through which results are obtained. It is design in its pure form, that affects all aspects of the business.”
Rodriguez is a great example of the type of design leaders needed in the 21st century. He believes that all business owners, political leaders, and financial institutions have a MORAL obligation to run their organizations with integrity and with a triple bottom line focus.