Innovator, artist, protagonist, and positive provocateur, Maria Giudice has pursued a vision of intelligent, elegant, people-centered design throughout her professional life. Her grasp of the pragmatic, the authentic, and the essential have kept her at the forefront of design and business for over 20 years. Under Maria's leadership, Hot Studio, the experience design firm she founded in 1997, grew from a two-person outfit into a full-service creative agency with an impressive list of Fortune 500 clients. Facebook paid Maria the ultimate compliment in Mar 2013, by acquiring her and most of her employees in their largest "acqui-hire" to date. Maria's new role as Director of Product Design at Facebook allows her to experience first-hand the challenges and opportunities DEOs face. She is the co-author of Rise of the DEO: Leadership By Design.