Christopher McLean

President, Heroic Design Inc.

Christopher McLean is a professional mechanical engineer (PEng), with over 25 years of design leadership in startup companies.

He started his career designing gas purification plants for renewable energy: hydrogen for refueling stations, oxygen for on-board fuel cell vehicles, and biogas for energy recovery and greenhouse gas reduction.

He then co-founded Espro, a product company that improves coffee quality and consistency for home baristas and coffee shops. He was responsible for design, overseas manufacturing, and intellectual property. Espro’s products are sold in Starbucks, Williams Sonoma, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, REI, Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Crate and Barrel, Sur La Table, and Amazon. Espro was sold in 2018 to a US kitchenware manufacturer.

As an Adjunct Professor at UBC, he mentors engineers in design studios and lectures. As the founder of Heroic Design, Chris wrote a text on design process, and is working to bring generative AI into new product development.