The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) has officially announced Khoi Vo, ASID, IIDA, CIDA, IDEC, IDECF as the organization’s new chief executive officer (CEO). Having begun his tenure September 6, Vo will continue to work alongside retiring CEO Gary Wheeler, FASID, until September 30. Wheeler will then continue to serve ASID in an advisor capacity through to December 31, before retiring.
Most recently a leader at the renowned Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Vo brings more than 20 years of experience across the worlds of interior design, architecture, and education to his new role.
“In Khoi Vo, ASID found a ‘unicorn,’ with highly specialized experience and an effective and energetic style of leadership crucial for the organization’s growth and expansion in the years to come,” said Jennifer Kolstad, Global Design & Brand Director at Ford Motor Company, and co-chair of the ASID CEO search committee. “As ASID advances its mission to promote the value of interior design and its power to impact lives, Khoi Vo’s leadership will serve not only the Society, but the whole design world and public.”
Khoi Vo Brings a Legacy of Education and Leadership to Helm ASID
Vo has touched the design world for nearly two decades as both a designer and an educator. In 2002, he founded Studio Four Los Angeles, where he worked as the design director and designed and sold architectural products. He later founded Khoi Vo Design and operated as the studio’s design director for 12 years and oversaw all phases of the firm’s projects. As someone who led collaborative partnerships within the profession, Vo has worked with industry giants including Deloitte, Disney, Google, Ford, Facebook, NASA, and Clayco throughout his career.
Vo started his teaching career at several institutions of higher education in southern California. He later became a professor at SCAD’s department of interior design and later served as Chair. After a stint at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Vo returned to SCAD to head its former Hong Kong campus and then serve as the institution’s vice president for industry relations, a role from which he is stepping down from to join ASID.
He currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Interior Design Educator Council Foundation and was previously an ASID board member from 2017-2019. He has also served as Site Visitor and Co-Chair for the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), and as a member of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) for more than a decade.
Vo has received numerous awards during his career, with highlights including the 2015 Honorable Mention for the CIDA Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 2017-18 DesignIntelligence Top 25 Most Admired Educators.
Vo earned a Bachelor of Arts with a design focus in architecture from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fl. He later received a Master of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles.