Burton Rast Keynote Speaker

Partner at Strange VC; artist and designer.
Former Principal Designer at IDEO; design leadership at Google.
Expert in: product leadership; emerging tech & AI; the circular economy; mentorship, collaboration, and company culture; storytelling, photography, and filmmaking.

Burton Rast's Biography

Burton Rast is a speaker, artist, and designer living in San Francisco, California. He has enjoyed a range of disciplines throughout his more than 20-year career, from product leadership, creative direction, and design innovation, to storytelling, photography, and filmmaking.

Burton is a passionate advocate for mentorship and knowledge-sharing, and believes design can be a powerful instrument for change. He is a frequent presenter at companies, universities, and conferences the world over, and has written and spoken extensively about design and its impact on society.

Burton spent seven years at IDEO as a Principal Designer, and another five in design leadership at Google. He has consulted for companies ranging from startups, to tech giants, to the Fortune 50, and presently serves as a Design Partner at Strange Ventures, a San Francisco-based VC firm, advising and investing in early-stage AI startups.

Burton regularly speaks to audiences about career and life lessons, as well as hard-fought truths, realized both in and out of the workplace. And he cooks a mean omelet; so mean, in fact, that he once made them for the entire IDEO studio.

The circular economy / circular design

Emerging tech & AI

Mentorship and company culture

Imposter syndrome and the hedonic treadmill

Lessons learned from the world's top design & tech roles

He brings 20+ years of cross-disciplinary authority spanning product leadership, creative direction and design innovation, helping teams connect craft, strategy and culture in the work that matters most.
He translates hard-won lessons from seven years at IDEO and five years in design leadership at Google into practical guidance for building products, stories and experiences people genuinely care about.
He equips leaders to think more creatively about AI and the future of design through his role as Design Partner at Strange Ventures, advising and investing in early-stage startups shaping what comes next.
He is a compelling, widely sought-after presenter for companies, universities and conferences worldwide, delivering clear, human storytelling that lands with both technical and non-technical audiences.
His talks strengthen mentorship and knowledge-sharing across organisations, showing how design can be an instrument for change and a lever for more meaningful impact.