Multi-Intelligence Design in Corporate Conglomerates: Mariela Sotomayor PhD Defense

Multi-Intelligence Design in Corporate Conglomerates Scaling Design for Strategic Value Through AI Platforms Mariela Sotomayor’s research explores design as a multi-intelligence infrastructure capable of expanding design agency in complex organizations. As artificial intelligence, data systems, and institutional decision environments become increasingly intertwined, design is evolving beyond a problem-solving discipline into a strategic capability that shapes how organizations interpret signals, coordinate knowledge, and make decisions. Her work examines how designerly reasoning operates within hybrid systems where human expertise, digital infrastructures, and machine intelligence interact. Through practice-based research conducted within a large Latin American financial conglomerate, the study investigates how design can function as an organizational infrastructure that enables distributed cognition across teams, technologies, and institutions at the level of a conglomerate. Central to this research is her model of Multi-Intelligence Design Agency Systems (MIDAS), a framework that explains how design orchestrates human and machine intelligence to guide strategic choices, govern complexity, and scale innovation across organizations. By positioning design as an infrastructural capability rather than a localized function, Sotomayor’s research offers a new perspective for organizations operating in environments shaped by AI, systemic complexity, and rapid transformation. The work also outlines implications for the future of design practice, organizational governance, design education, and research in hybrid human–AI systems. Grounded in practice within large Latin American organizations, the research contributes to advancing the role of design in a region where the field is still emerging at the strategic and institutional level, expanding the global discourse on how design can operate as a driver of organizational intelligence and transformation. About the Speaker: Mariela Sotomayor is a design executive, researcher, and practitioner working at the intersection of design, corporate strategy, and intelligent systems. She currently serves as Corporate Head of Design and Customer Experience at Credicorp, one of the largest financial conglomerates in Latin America, where she leads the development of design and customer experience capabilities across multiple subsidiaries. With more than twenty years of experience advancing design in Latin America, her career reflects the evolution of design from practice to strategic capability within large organizations. Her work focuses on integrating user-centered design into strategic decision-making, product innovation, and organizational transformation, translating customer insight into measurable business value. Mariela has built and led multidisciplinary teams across financial services, technology, and public sector contexts, helping organizations connect design practice with strategy, operations, and growth. She holds a Master’s degree in Design for Development from Kingston University, London. ____________________ Explore the Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech Advance your career in design strategy, systems design, and human-centered innovation: Website: https://id.iit.edu/ Request info: https://id.iit.edu/contact/ Apply: https://id.iit.edu/graduate-school/ap... Stay Connected Newsletter: https://id.iit.edu/join-our-mailing-l... LinkedIn:   / iitdesign   Instagram:    / iitdesign   Facebook:   / iitdesign