Eliot Noyes Center Names Jon Iwata Inaugural Fellow
Today the Eliot Noyes Center announced the creation of the Eliot Noyes Fellowship and named Jon Iwata as its inaugural Fellow. The Fellowship program will invite accomplished leaders drawn from diverse fields to explore Eliot Noyes’ body of work and, with the Center’s resources and expertise, develop new approaches to consequential challenges in their respective disciplines.
Jon Iwata is Executive Director of the Yale Program on Stakeholder Innovation and Management (Y-SIM) at the Yale School of Management, where he is also a lecturer.
The Eliot Noyes Center is a nonprofit organization based in New Canaan, Connecticut, dedicated to advancing the understanding of design and its role in shaping organizations and society. Drawing on Noyes’ work and legacy, the Center will develop programs, discussions, exhibitions and educational experiences that bring together leaders from design, architecture, art, science, business and other fields. The Fellowship is an important step in that effort.
The Eliot Noyes Fellowship is designed for individuals with the experience, relationships and influence to bring new ideas into practice. Fellows are invited not simply for their accomplishments, but for their capacity to carry important ideas into new settings, influence the thinking of others and make a continuing contribution to their fields.
"The more I've learned about Eliot Noyes, the more I've come to appreciate the breadth of his thinking," Iwata said. "He understood that the character of an organization is expressed not just in what it says, but in everything it does—and that design can help bring coherence to those choices. These ideas have profound relevance today, as organizations confront new technologies, changing expectations and questions about their role in society. I'm honored to be the inaugural Noyes Fellow. I'm looking forward to exploring with the Center how Eliot Noyes’ principles can help address the complex challenges facing leaders and institutions today."
November 12, 2026