Join Pascal Finette in our dynamic bimonthly live event series to dive into the heart of innovation. Pascal engages in candid conversations with eminent experts who demonstrate progress in practice. In our first session of 2024, we feature Aaron Frank, a longtime expert in Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Spatial Computing. Together, we will explore the future of this field. With the recent release of Apple's Vision Pro headset, Meta's ongoing efforts, the continuous updates to the Quest Pro hardware, and the entry of new companies into the market, this could be the moment when headset-based computing takes off – or not?!
Kacee Johnson, as the Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at CPA.com, stands out in the realm of accounting technology. Grounded in global FinTech, she pinpoints pivotal trends and forges collaborations in the sector. Celebrated by Accounting Today and CPA Practice Advisor, Kacee also ranks among the Most Powerful Women in Accounting. In our conversation, Kacee explores the complex issues of AI integration in the accounting realm. She emphasizes the need for robust infrastructure, the recruitment of talent knowledgeable in both AI and accounting intricacies, the critical role of upholding data quality for precise financial forecasts, and the essential harmonization of AI-based strategies with overarching accounting goals and benchmarks.
In our discussion, David shares insights from years on the boards of major corporations. He urges CEOs to engage board members for strategic guidance, not just oversight. David sees board meetings as chances to focus on the future, offering strategies like independent incubators and migrating innovations from edge to core. He emphasizes selecting directors individually and fostering a strong chair-CEO relationship. For startups, he advises gradually building an advisory board of experts and wisely anticipating disruption. With four decades of leadership experience spanning multiple industries and roles, David Beatty is a highly accomplished strategist and governance expert. He led a major North American food manufacturer, served as CEO of a closed-end investment trust, and taught strategy at Rotman School of Management. Beatty has served on 39 boards, chairing 9 public companies, and created director education programs. He focuses on helping boards and CEOs collaborate to anticipate disruption and invest time wisely. Beatty has been recognized with the Order of Canada and a lifetime achievement award from the International Corporate Governance Network.
Brant Cooper is the New York Times bestselling author of “The Lean Entrepreneur” and “Disruption Proof,” and the innovative mind behind Moves the Needle. With a rich history of transforming industrial age dynamics into digital age opportunities, Brant brings unique insights on agility, digital transformation, and how to create real value for customers amidst today’s complex and disruptive business landscape. What happened to the glory days when scrappy startups could disrupt entire industries? Brant Cooper says those days are over – but large companies shouldn’t retreat into their innovation labs hoping for breakthroughs. Instead, they must empower diverse teams and partner with the startup community. Cooper provides a dynamic playbook to make companies “disruption proof” in this rapidly changing world. Learn how to balance exploration and execution, drive real impact, and create resilient yet adaptable organizations. A must-listen for any innovator dealing with today’s challenges!
Frederik is a renowned global thought leader and former Chief Innovation Evangelist at Google, where he led the growth of the company's innovation culture and mentored a diverse global community of over 600 Innovation Evangelists. He is an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University's d.school and teaches graduate classes on navigating ambiguity at the intersection of innovation, creativity, and design. In our conversation Frederik and I talk about developing a future mindstate, why the future belongs to all of us and not just a few “innovators”, and his upcoming book on the topic.
Christina is the CEO of biotech startup Officinae Bio, and the former cofounder of the Innovation Lab of ViiV Healthcare, a joint venture between GSK, Pfizer, and Shionogi. Previously she held leadership positions at GSK and has spent her career at the forefront of healthcare innovation." Repeat guest Christina, and I discuss all things leadership, how to manage successful innovation initiatives and their teams, and the pitfalls which can present themselves along the way.
Mary is Managing Partner of Bread and Butter Ventures. She began her career working on the Google IPO, and went on to lead new business development partnerships, negotiating early-stage product and technology deals worldwide. Mary served as the founding director of Google for Startups, leading the company’s global efforts to support entrepreneurs in over 100 countries. After her 15-year career at Google, Mary worked as an investment partner at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, where she led dozens of investments in a range of sectors, including healthcare, enterprise software, and fintech. In our conversation, we dig deep into the learnings from thousands of startups, explore how corporates can better partner and work with entrepreneurs and their companies, and discuss common pitfalls to avoid.
Josep heads up Innovation at Swiss-based Oberalp Group, a world leader in mountain sports equipment. Further, he is General Manager at POMOCA, the market leader ski touring skin manufacturer. In our conversation, we explore the many lessons which can be learned from the timeless classic Swiss army knife, why sustaining innovation oftentimes trumps the perceived need for disruption, and what might be next for the outdoor sports industry.
Raphael Gielgen has spent most of his professional life working on improving the office environment. Raphael is Trendscout Future of Work Life & Learn at the legendary design firm Vitra. His curiosity for architecture, technology, and social change in the context of working environments is his fuel — always connected to the question of how the global working world is changing and what impact it has on existing business models. In our conversation, we explore the future of work, the role of the office (and other spaces) in this future, and how leaders can best prepare themselves for the future — not just the future of our working world but all futures.
Barak is the founder of MarketCentrix, a consumer strategy consultancy for tech companies. Barak consults to start-ups, VCs, and large companies and serves as a board member or advisor to start-ups. Most recently, Barak was the Director of Operation and Strategy at the MIT Media Lab. Prior to the Media Lab, Barak was CEO of Evi, the virtual personal assistant acquired by Amazon, and is now the intelligence in Amazon Alexa. Over his 30 years + in consumer technology, Barak established a broad range of businesses. He was the founder or senior executive in many start-ups, including Wolfram Alpha, Six Apart, OmniSky, The Go Network, and Logitech. Before Logitech, Barak spent over nine years at Apple USA and Apple Japan in several roles leading consumer marketing, and he was the founding manager of Macy’s Computer Stores. In our conversation, Barak explores the leadership traits of successful disruptors, how organizations look like supporting those leaders, and the common pitfalls firms encounter along the way. We end our inspiring discussion with an outlook on the possible impact of (technological) change on humanity.
Natasha is the Chief Operating Officer of Signol. Natasha has a Masters of Sience in Global Crime, Justice, and Security from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to Signol, Natasha spent nine years working within the UK Ministry of Defence, specializing in intelligence. Her final role in Defence was as Chief Operating Officer of the MOD’s most successful innovation team, responsible for delivering novel technology in machine learning, data science, special operations, and sustainability to Defence through user-centered design and non-traditional suppliers. In our conversation, Natasha and I explore her approach to innovation in a highly complex and interdependent environment, why and how organizations fail and what to do about it.
Marques is a cyborg anthropologist, innovator, and world builder. Seeking to be globally impactful, he created the World Education Foundation in 2009 while writing his Master’s thesis for the Adult Learning and Global Change program at Linkoøping University in Sweden. The WE Foundation’s mission and aim focuses on bridging the gap between academia, technology, and implementation in local communities around the world. In our conversation, we explore the fascinating work of a cyborg anthropologist, ancestral wisdom, and how to integrate this into one’s work.
Hemali is an industry-agnostic Multipotentialite with 30+ years of experience with in-depth technical and business acumen across different organizations. She is known for her thought leadership in Strategic Execution which includes strategic assessment, planning, governance, and implementation of complex systems with robust technical competencies. Hemali currently works at NASA / JPL – Caltech in Project Development Leadership for NASA’s flight projects and mission success and is Chair of the AIAA Space Economy Committee working to bring industry, academia, and innovators together. Hemali has co-founded and been an advisor for various technology startups and owned/operated a business in hospitality. In our conversation we explore (no pun!) the future of space exploration, and what companies and leaders can learn from NASA.
Grant is the founder of Knotion Labs where he works with leaders to invent breakthough products and get them into the hands of customers. In our conversation we talk a about innovation best practices, the common pitfalls, and Grant’s anti-patterns of innovation and disruptive.
David is the founder of Idea Farm Ventures where he invests into and helps build mission-driven companies for the modern consumer. He started and designed the Wharton School of Business’s first course on Digital Marketing and E-Commerce and the author of the book “Location Is (Still) Everything”. In our conversation we dig into the wonderous world of direct-to-consumer businesses, what’s next for B2C companies, and the inner workings of disruptive innovation in the space.
David Siegel is the CEO of Meetup, the largest platform for finding and building local community. He has over 20 years of experience as a technology and digital media executive leading organizations through innovative product development, rapid revenue growth, and digital traffic acceleration. Prior to joining Meetup, David was CEO of Investopedia and before that, President of Seeking Alpha. David’s book, Decide and Conquer: 44 Decisions that will Make or Break All Leaders lays out the framework for decision-making that leaders can use to ensure organizational and personal success. In our conversation we talk about David’s approach to failing, learning, and the art of the pivot, how to stand the inevitable tensions with doing things on the edge, and how to create a winning culture.
Bruce Smith is the founder and CEO of hydrow, the fitness company which created the leading connected rowing machine. A former Head of the Charles winner, Bruce coached the US Lightweight Eight to a Bronze medal at the 2015 World Rowing Championships. In our conversation we explore the many disruptions and state changes happening in the fitness industry at large, how community becomes the cornerstone of personal transformation, the approach the hydrow team took to creating their revolutionary product in a category which hasn’t seen much change over the last couple of decades, and how this all translates into the world of business and leadership.
Riaz Shah is EY's Global Learning Leader and a long-term partner in the firm. Throughout his career he has had senior leadership and client roles at EY and Capgemini, in Assurance, Advisory, Operations and Global Talent. In our conversation we dig deep into the future of learning and work, how to prepare yourself and your team for the future and which skills are most needed today and tomorrow. It is a fascinating, deep dive into the ways one of the largest consulting firms in the world prepares itself and its workforce for the future — and what you can learn from it.
Cecilia “Cece” Tham is the cofounder, principle and future synthesist at Futurity Systems, where she and her team are hard at work creating the future. Previously she created a leading collaborative Coworking community in Barcelona, Spain, was a Senior Social Technologist at Telefonica Alpha, the European moonshot factory, among many other roles. She is an acclaimed public speaker, and educator. In our conversation, we look at the world of innovation and disruption through the lens of a futurist, and explore the models and frameworks Cecilia and her team bring to her work in anticipating and creating the future.
Samantha is the cofounder and catalyst at re:3D, where she and her team pioneered large-scale 3D printers, as well as using recycled materials as filament. Previously, she was a social entrepreneur-in-residence at NASA Johnson Space Center and the cofounder of Bioflow Technologies, a biotech startup working on novel approaches to tissue cultures. Together, we explore the future of manufacturing, how to build a manufacturing company from the ground up, and the disruptive nature of 3D printing ten years after the initial hype.