Making What Matters

Oct 22, 2025

Black-and-white portrait of Tony Fadell, smiling and standing casually with one hand in his pocket, wearing a plain black V-neck T-shirt against a light background.

About

Making What Matters introduces Tony Fadell — inventor, entrepreneur, investor, and author of Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making — as MAD's inaugural Designer in Residence. Fadell, known for his creation of the iPod, iPhone, and Nest, will discuss how design decisions shape technology, daily life, and the futures we imagine.

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This event is presented in partnership with the MIT Media Lab and is part of series of public events featuring Tony Fadell at MIT, such as MAD Reads, a discussion open to the public on Fadell's book.

Speakers

  • Tony Fadell

    Engineer, designer, entrepreneur, and investor

    Anthony “Tony” Fadell is an active investor and entrepreneur with a 30+ year history of founding companies and designing products that profoundly improve people’s lives. He founded Nest Labs, Inc. in 2010 and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2016. Known as the “father of the iPod,” he joined Apple Computer Inc. in 2001 and, as the SVP of Apple’s iPod division, led the team that created the first 18 generations of the iPod and the first three generations of the iPhone.

    Fadell has filed more than 300 patents for his work and was named one of Time's “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2014. In May 2016, Time named the Nest Learning Thermostat, the iPod and the iPhone three of the “50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time.” Fadell graduated with a BS degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1991.

Accessibility

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Please email us at [email protected] to request accommodations.