Applied Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Genevieve Bell, Intel's Secret Weapon

Genevieve Bell (Source: J.R. Mankoff)

One could make a legitimate claim that Genevieve Bell was born to be an anthropologist.  Her mother was a well known Australian anthropologist, and Genevieve accompanied her mother throughout her field studies and work with Australian Aboriginal groups.  Genevieve followed in her mother’s footsteps as she went on to pursue her studies in anthropology.  She earned her Bachelors and Masters in the subject from Bryn Mawr College, followed by her Doctorate from Stanford. 

 

Upon completion of her degrees Genevieve taught at Stanford, but she did not find the work completely fulfilling.  When someone suggested she apply for a job at Intel, American multinational corporation and technology company that specializes in computers, she applied but was unsure how she would fit in.  She said as much during the interview.  Despite her doubts, she was offered the job, and one her first day her new employer said that she was selected because of expertise on women and the “rest of the world,” referencing the people and places outside of the American market. 

 

Genevieve’s first position at Intel was in Research and Development, and over time she led Intel’s first User Experience (UX) laboratory.  Her most recent position is as the Intel Fellow and a Vice President in the Corporate Strategy Office.  She advanced to this prestigious leadership position because of her sharp wit, critical eye, and open world view, incorporating the anthropological skills she learned as a child and through her educational experiences. 

 

Genevieve is credited in pioneering and creating several Intel products.  One is the China Home Learning PC.  This product directly came from Genevieve’s interviews with Chinese parents who were hesitant in purchasing computers for the home because they feared the PC would be a distraction to their children.  This specific PC allows users to limit computer use, allowing parents to prevent children from playing games or using the internet when they were supposed to be completing homework.  Another product she and her UX Laboratory team created was technology that allowed car owners to better sync their personal devices to their cars.  This was a path that went counter to where car markers were going, who felt consumers wanted more technological gadgets attached to their car.  Genevieve and her colleagues’ interviews of people throughout the world recognized that people want to use those gadgets outside of the car, hence why syncing personal, mobile devices was more important than creating gadgets in the car. 

 

In Genevieve’s own words, she focuses on creating “market-inspired, experience-driven and then technology-delivered” products, which is key to her success at Intel.  It is also why she has received numerous awards.  She has received the Fast Company’s 2010 “100 Most Creative People In Business and the 2013 Woman of Vision for Leadership award by the Anita Borg Institute.  She was also inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame in 2012.

 

Works Cited

Australia, G. o. (2011). Who is Genevieve Bell? Retrieved from Adelaide Thinkers in Residence: http://www.thinkers.sa.gov.au/thinkers/bell/who.aspx

Fields, R. (2015, July 16). The Culture Q&A: Intel's Genevieve Bell (Part 1). Forbes.

Singer, N. (2014, February 15). Intel’s Sharp-Eyed Social Scientist. New York Times.