Jake Layes is Global Lead for Cleantech & Entrepreneur Impact and Head of Sustainability and Cleantech for AsiaPacific at Autodesk. He is responsible for sustainability programs and initiatives at Autodesk, including Autodesk’s Cleantech Partner Program, which supports the efforts, innovations and environmental advancements of clean technology partners across the region.
As a highly respected industry expert, Jake has been a frequent speaker at a wide range of prominent design and innovation conferences, including the Tsinghua International Design Symposium in Beijing, China; the Design Business Forum in Tokyo, Japan; the National Design Conference in New Delhi, India; Harvard Project for Asia and International Relations 2012 (HPAIR), Taipei, Taiwan; the Nikkei BP International Conference for a Sustainable Future, Tokyo, Japan; the AsiaPacific Sustainability Leader Forum in Singapore; and the World Green Design Forum in Yangzhou, China.
A German by Nationality, Jake has a broad international background ranging from product development for consumer products, to marketing and business development. He has been in Asia since 1997, having lived & worked in Singapore, Japan and is now based out of Hong Kong.
Jake holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, as well as a Bachelor of Science – Industrial Design from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, USA.