DMI regrets to inform the DMI community that Karen Freeze, DMI Senior Research Fellow, passed away on March 19 after a long illness. Karen, together with Earl Powell, was the driving force behind the development of the DMI case study program. She was the author of many of DMI’s best-known studies, including “Braun AG: The KF 40 Coffee Machine,” “Novo Nordisk A/S: Designing for Diabetics,” “Umpqua Bank: Managing the Culture and Implementing the Brand,” and most recently, “Design Strategy at Samsung Electronics: Becoming a
Top-Tier Company.”

Karen was formerly Director of Research for DMI, had been a Research Associate for Harvard Business School, and most recently was Affiliate Faculty at Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington. She maintained a consulting practice and was an expert on the management of design and technology, the history of technology and design, and Central and Eastern Europe. Since 2005, Karen worked as a Central and Eastern European coordinator and PhD program advisor for the Netherlands Foundation for the History of Technology Tensions of Europe Program, a pan-European network of scholars developing a new history of Europe through the lens of technology (www.tensionsofeurope.eu). She received her PhD from Columbia University, and her BA from the University of Washington. Karen was a superb writer and possessed a tremendous intellect. All of us at DMI pass on our condolences to Karen’s family, friends, and associates.

See also the obituary on the Tensions of Europe website