Innovation Ahead by IRI

Facilitator: Laura Buen Abad, Sonoco Speakers: Michael Davin, National Association of Manufacturers In this insightful episode, Laura Buen Abad, the technology and marketing lead at Sonoco, engages in a compelling discussion with Mike Davin from the National Association of Manufacturers. They delve into the intricate landscape of PFAS regulations, recent developments, and their implications for va...

Facilitator: Portia Yarborough, Michelman Speaker: Gavin Towler, Honeywell Join Gavin Towler, Corporate Chief Scientist, Sustainability Technology and Chief Sustainability Officer at Honeywell, and Portia Yarborough, Chief Science and Sustainability Officer at Michelman, for an insightful discussion on the intersection of science, sustainability, and innovation. In this keynote session, they explo...

Facilitator: Jerry Grunewald, INVISTA Panelists: Alyssa Mueller, Hess, and Alberto Ferrari, RTX  Jerry Grunewald from INVISTA kicks off the conference by discussing the importance of knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer interaction at IRI events. He introduces his colleagues Alyssa and Alberto, who delve into the transformative power of digitization and AI in their respective industries. Alyssa from...

Facilitator: Lee Green, IRI Panelist: Julie Edgar, The Lubrizol Corporation In this episode, we welcome Julie Edgar, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Lubrizol, and Lee Green, Assistant Vice President of Research and Strategy at IRI, to the stage. Julie shares her journey from a coal-mining town in Wales to leading technological innovations at Lubrizol. She discusses the compan...

Facilitator: Nancy Mancilla, Environ Panelists: Joel Schall, Henkel, and Dan Boss, The AZEK Company The panel will explore the intersection of sustainability and innovation processes, shedding light on how organizations integrate sustainability goals into their product development strategies. Panelists will delve into the intricacies of incorporating sustainability criteria into StageGate and othe...

In this enlightening episode, we delve into a deep-dive conversation with Aaron Szabo, Senior Director at Faegre Drinker. Harnessing his over a decade experience dealing with environmental, energy, and manufacturing issues, this podcast episode gives us illuminating insights into environmental and energy regulations and their impact. Zabo masterfully delves into the challenges of compliance and ri...

This report sheds light on the significance of knowledge management and transfer in innovation and research development, focusing on Caterpillar Inc.'s exceptional practice of these critical business functions. Modern enterprises grapple with the challenge of retaining valuable knowledge in the face of increasing staff turnover and retirement – this is where effective knowledge management and tran...

Listen as Thomas Thurston, chief technologist at Ducera Partners, and Greg Hannon, former chief technology officer at W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., delve into the development of a tool that brings increased clarity to innovation portfolio decisions. They cover industry applications, the process of creating such a tool, and the transformative role of AI in shaping the future of innovation. Gain...

In the latest installment of IRI's Sustainability Thought Leader series, we chat with Jeff Strahan, the Director of Research Compliance and Sustainability at Milliken and Company. Strahan provides an intriguing insight into his personal journey in sustainability, the difficulties and opportunities in dealing with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), and Milliken's assertive approach to sust...

Discover the intricacies of Horizon 2 (H2) opportunity management and learn how to effectively build an organizational culture that embraces innovation. This white paper, "The Challenge of Horizon 2, Implications for Effective Opportunity Development," by Scott Matthews and Stephanie Hartwig, provides insights into the successful implementation of a governance framework for H2. Exploring the compl...

Explore the immediate impact of AI on scientific processes, from foundational tasks to failure mode identification, and gain perspectives on its future trajectory in scientific applications, alongside insights into student engagement with this transformative technology.

Thought Leader Interview with Luiziana Ribeiro, Director of Sustainability, BASF Setting your organization’s sustainability strategy and goals is one step in the sustainability journey.  The next is to be able to tell a compelling story to bring along staff, shareholders, customers, and other key stakeholders.  Luiziana Ribeiro, director of sustainability, BASF, shares how she is working to tell B...

Talk of AI is everywhere now, but are companies actually using new tools in a systematic way? If so, how? Chitra Kumar Sai, data scientist at INVISTA, shares examples of how they are using AI tools, including natural language processing, large language models, computer vision, and machine learning for root cause analysis. Learn how their data governance has enabled them to move quickly on these ne...

Learn from experienced innovation leaders how they have organized their R&D and innovation functions to adapt to changing priorities and environments while also capitalizing on internal expertise and resources.  Panelists:  Darin Latimer, Vice President, Strategic Innovation, Danaher Corporation; Srinivas Veeramasuneni, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, USG Corporation; Moder...

Thought Leader Interview with Sheila Remes, Vice President, Environmental Sustainability, at The Boeing Company With an organization of over 145,000 people and a product with over a 20 year lifespan, Boeing should not be able to change quickly. However, the drive for sustainability has brought the organization together to work toward industry-wide change. Learn from Sheila Remes, vice president, e...

Sustainability Thought Leader Interview with Jeff Strahan, Director of Research, Compliance, and Sustainability at Milliken & Company In this podcast, we explore Milliken's proactive response to the challenges posed by PFAS, from initial realization to strategic shifts in R&D and analytics. We delve into leadership alignment, communication with customers, and SAP-related challenges, conclu...

Learn how BASF stays at the forefront of digital innovation. Brian Standen gives highlights of their process, from identifying potential trends to placing bets on which technologies will have the most impact to incubating then rolling those technologies out more widely in the organization. He shares techniques for managing a portfolio of new technologies (Spoiler: Don’t be afraid to be bold.) and...

Thought Leader Interview with Dan Abramowicz, CTO, and Alberto Rodriguez, Digital Optimization Team Leader at Crown Holdings, Inc. Smart glasses enabled Crown Holdings to continue to carry out plant trials even in the face of a pandemic. However, as travel restrictions and social distancing measures have been dropped, so have the use cases for smart glasses. Learn about the areas in which Crown fi...

Thought Leader Interview with Brandon Farris, Vice President of Energy and Resources Policy, National Association of Manufacturers The global regulatory environment has become increasingly difficult for companies to track and understand. Listen to the NAM’s VP of energy and resources policy, Brandon Farris for a download on: PFAS; the power plants rule; the plastics draft strategy; and particulate...

Thought Leader Interview with Iria Giuffrida, William & Mary Law School Gain an understanding of the key legal implications that innovators need to know as you integrate AI tools into your organization. Iria Giuffrida, Professor of the Practice of Law and Assistant Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs at William & Mary Law School, dives into key legal issues around AI, including: Copyrigh...

Integrating sustainability into all aspects of an organization is no small task. ICL galvanized their efforts by declaring 2022 to be the year of sustainability: holding activities, educating staff, and thinking about goals, both big and small and long and short term. Learn from Anantha Desikan, Executive Vice President and Chief Research, Development & Innovation Officer, how this helped ICL...

Water cooler conversations have been virtually impossible (pun intended) for over three years now. But were they even an effective way to get your teams collaborating in the first place? Owens Corning looked at their successful ERP model and wondered how they could parlay that effective collaboration into other parts of the business, including new product development. Collaboration hubs are their...

Learn about Procter & Gamble’s focus on ensuring there is no trade off between value, quality, and sustainability. Jerry Porter, Senior Vice President, R&D Global Fabric Care, Flavors & Fragrance Discipline Capability and Fabric & Home Care Sector, at Procter & Gamble shares how innovation can rise to meet this challenge, working across the organization and with a broad range o...

Learn how Lam Research has harnessed their staff's enthusiasm for sustainability and enabled great strides toward their environment, social, and governance (ESG) goals through the creation of a Sustainability Employee Resource Group (ERG).  Jami Haaning, Director of ESG, and Wojtek Osowiecki, Product Marketing Engineer and founder and chair of Lam Employee Sustainability Community (LESC), discuss...

Gain insights into two key aspects of the digital transformation journey: manufacturing and the customer experience. Lou Stocco, Director, Manufacturing Advanced Analytics at USG, will share how they are leveraging roadmaps and data and connecting their workforce as they work toward automated action. Sam Immordino, Director, Construction Software and Services, will discuss their digital center of...