Bally Design Names Dino Mariano CEO

Bally Design, a Pittsburgh-based product design consultancy founded in 1972, has named longtime Design Director Dino Mariano as its next Chief Executive Oficer. Mariano, who joined Bally Design in 1993, becomes only the fifth CEO in the firm’s 54-year history.

The leadership transition was shared Tuesday evening with clients, colleagues and friends at The Highline in Pittsburgh, where Bally Design also unveiled a new visual identity reflecting the continued evolution of the company.

Mariano joined Bally Design immediately after earning his undergraduate degree in industrial design from Rochester Institute of Technology. Over more than three decades, he has risen through the organization from industrial designer to Design Director, a role he has held since 2013. He has led multidisciplinary teams and client engagements across industries and has also served as an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

“Bally Design has shaped my entire career,” Mariano said. “I learned here that great design starts with understanding people, asking the right questions and clearly defining the problem you’re trying to solve. It’s also about challenging assumptions and building alignment around what really matters. I’m fortunate to be stepping into this role with an incredibly talented and experienced team, and with strong capabilities that allow us to take on increasingly complex challenges. I’m excited to build on that foundation and continue evolving what Bally Design can do for our clients.”

Mariano succeeds Julie Gulick, who has served as CEO since January 2019. Gulick joined Bally Design during an ownership transition after nearly two decades as a client of the firm. Under her leadership, Bally Design achieved record revenue in her first year, strengthened its business development and operations, navigated the pandemic and subsequent market uncertainty, and broadened its capabilities to support clients across the full product-development journey—from early exploration and strategy through design, development and production.

“When I became CEO, I knew Bally Design first as a longtime client. I knew how talented the people were and how much value this company could bring to a product-development team,” Gulick said. “Over the past seven years, we’ve worked hard to make the business stronger, tell our story more clearly and expand how far we can travel with our clients. I’m enormously proud of what this team has accomplished. Bally Design is stronger today, and that makes this the right time for Dino to lead what comes next.”

Gulick also expanded Bally Design’s design strategy capabilities, work that ultimately led to the creation of HealthForge, a Bally Design company focused on helping academic innovators and early-stage founders—particularly in health technology—evaluate opportunities and navigate the path toward commercialization. As Strategic Advisor, Gulick will continue to support Bally Design while leading select work through HealthForge.

The new leadership and visual identity reflect the idea Bally Design is carrying forward:

Built on Experience. Designed for What’s Next. About Bally Design

Founded in Pittsburgh in 1972 by industrial designer Alex Bally, Bally Design is a product design consultancy helping companies identify opportunities and develop products, interfaces and experiences that delight customers. The firm works across consumer, medical and industrial markets and is headquartered at The Highline in Pittsburgh.