Back to the LeaderboardThe Design Leadership Index

Ethan Mollick

Associate Professor at Wharton and author of Co-Intelligence; best known as the most-read practical explainer of working with AI via the One Useful Thing newsletter.

SeniorLeads from the frontNew schoolAIContentResearchEducationEnterpriseOrgSystems
He defines the human-first, elevate-not-replace posture the index rewards — but as an AI educator and researcher, not a design leader, so his fit here is adjacent rather than core.

Signature win. Wrote the NYT-bestselling Co-Intelligence and built a 158k-reader platform that turned 'how do I actually use AI at work' from anxiety into a teachable practice for hundreds of thousands of people.

The case

editorial · CCBEI · with sources
CraftWorld-class AI experimenter and pedagogue, but no evidence of design craft — he doesn't hold a bar for product/visual work or end-human design quality.3
CommunicationAmong the clearest explainers of AI alive: Co-Intelligence (NYT bestseller) and One Useful Thing (158k subscribers) make complex AI legible and actionable — the clarity thesis embodied.10
BusinessResearch like the P&G field experiment and Wharton AI-lab work demonstrably reshapes how orgs deploy AI for performance; influence is on practice broadly, not on running a design P&L.7
EducationHis entire body of work is reskilling people to work with AI — classroom studies, practical guides, 'just use it 10 hours' — the people-protection axis at its strongest.10
InnovationPushes practice forward via the 'co-intelligence / centaur-cyborg' framing where AI lifts people rather than replacing them — squarely elevate, not hollow, though innovation is in pedagogy not design craft.8

Endorsed by peers

illustrative · opens with verified accounts
OverallI'd work for them30
CraftRaised my craft bar15
CommunicationMade the case for design50
BusinessMade design matter to the business35
EducationTaught me something I still use50
InnovationShowed me a new way to work40

Verified peers only — one tap with LinkedIn. Names stay private; we show role and industry. Bars are illustrative until the participation backend is live.

Stories

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