Felber was born on 10 July 1942 in
Egerkingen,
Switzerland, a small town in the canton of
Solothurn. His family ran a local carpentry workshop. From 1962 to 1965, he studied mechanical engineering at the
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. In 1964, he replaced a fellow student in his field study at a small furniture manufacturer company, De Sede. In 1966, he became a
system engineer at De Sede. He took a 50 percent stake in the company. By 1978, De Sede was exporting to over 70 countries. In 1979, he obtained a PhD in Design Management at
Stanford University,
California and the
University of Fribourg,
Switzerland, achieving
magna cum laude. He authored
Systematic Design Management in the Enterprise: Fundamentals and Concepts which heralded the birth of
design management, design science and methodology. In the 1980s, he became a business partner and CEO of
Vitra USA, the world's leading contract furniture manufacturing firm. Parallel to his US activities, he became a board director in several companies, including Wilkhahn International, Wilkhahn Switzerland, Swissflex and Team by Wellis. In 2001, Urs Felber bought the Swiss furniture company Dietiker AG from the supermarket chain
Migros and transformed it into a recognized brand by incorporating contemporary designs, with products winning the
Red Dot Design Award and
Neocon Innovation Award. Dietiker became a leader in Switzerland and Europe in the contract furniture market. ==Awards and honors==