Innovation Rockstars

"The genius of this platform is that when it comes to foresight, foresight and insights are universal, but what we choose to do with that information is going to look different whether I'm SAP, Audi or McDonald's." In this episode we welcome two exciting guests: Michelle Gansle, Vice President Global Strategic Insights at McDonald's and Dr. Rupert Hofmann, initiator of the Foresight Academy at Aud...

Our today's guest has a very impressive list of references: - He is a futurist and an executive advisor. - He has a Ph. D. in String Theory and Astrophysics and has grown into a Defense expert in foresight, up to being the NATO’s Member at Large for Strategic Foresight and Futures Studies. - He founded the Swiss Center for Positive Futures at the University of Lausanne, and serves as its Director...

"If 20 random volunteers can pull off a tournament that now includes 1000s of employees with next to no budget whatsoever, then, you know, everyone else can do their small bit." In this episode, we are pleased to welcome Maria Mileder, Global Head of Innovation at PayPal. As an expert in the Technology and Innovation space, Maria has been accompanying PayPal for more than 12 years now. Her mission...

"As soon as CBDCs are available. As soon as there's a digital Euro. I'll check it out. That's the task of an innovation manager." In this episode, it's all about banking, cryptocurrencies, and the big question of how to explain modern banking to grandma. We welcome Christian Schmitz from DZ BANK, who in his role as Senior Consultant in the Innovation and Digitalization department not only runs DZ...

"What does Foresight have in common with astrophotography? In both, you try to extract the maximum of signals from the noise out there in order to get a clear picture in the end." In this episode, we exchange ideas with John Miranda, Director Strategy Office, Data Center and the AI group at Intel. His first programming attempts in high school with the Commodore 64 eventually brought him to Intel,...

"Innovation is a necessary part of our DNA. It's all about openness and transparency, about spotting trends and finding out if there's something in it for us or not. If not, hands off. But if yes, try to convince your company to adopt and scale." In this episode we exchange ideas with Erik Wirsing, Vice President Global Innovation about the hottest innovation topics at the logist...

"When I received the call from the headhunter telling me that Škoda Auto was building a new innovation management team, I knew instantly that this would be my dream job." In this episode, Innovation Manager Roman Šiser takes us on the innovation journey of Škoda Auto and explains how innovation management has changed in recent years. On the same note, we also shed light on the circumstances that a...

"Du musst dich als Unternehmen im Vorfeld festlegen, welchen Weg du gehen möchtest und danach Deine Strategie ausrichten.". Das wusste schon der US-amerikanischer Ökonom und Universitätsprofessor Michael Porter, als er sagte 'Strategy is Choice'. In dieser Folge sprechen wir mit Christopher Gerdes und Michael Eichelberger über das Thema Strategy Intelligence & Development bei der Mercedes-Benz AG....

"Die Tatsache, dass es immer noch Menschen gibt, die auf E-Mail-Anhänge klicken ohne vorher zu prüfen woher die eigentlich kommen, macht sehr deutlich, dass der Mensch einer der wesentlichen Faktoren in der Cybersicherheit ist und immer bleiben wird." In dieser Folge sprechen wir mit Dr. Simon Vogt von der Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit. Als Vice President liegt Simon’s Schwerpunkt...

"The worst thing about working in innovation is innovation theater, and innovation fatigue, which you can sort of die from as an innovation manager." In this episode we are joined by charming Noelia Almanza Ahari, a true Innovation Rockstar who has held several positions at the intersection of foresight, strategy, and people management in various industries, including health tech and defense. Most...

"But the magic ingredient beyond teamwork is when you find real purpose around which to innovate. Purpose creates that bold vision that people can align to and identify with." As Group Innovation Lead at Distell, one of South Africa's leading alcoholic beverage manufacturers, Caroline Snyman is not only leading innovation strategy and implementation for the group but is also building innovation as...

"Roadmapping is something that kind of flies under the radar and once you actually use it in your organization, it can bring tremendous benefits." In this episode, Dr. Clemens Chaskel Industrial Associate at the Institute for Manufacturing from the University of Cambridge initiates us into the secrets of roadmapping. As a true expert in this field, he provides first-hand tips on what to consider a...

"Roadmapping ist etwas, das irgendwie unter dem Radar fliegt, aber sobald man es in seinem Unternehmen einsetzt, sieht man die enorme Vorteile, die es hervorbringt." In dieser Folge weiht uns Dr. Clemens Chaskel, Industrial Associate am Institute for Manufacturing der University of Cambridge, in die Geheimnisse des Roadmapping ein. Als echter Experte auf diesem Gebiet zeigt er auf, was bei der Imp...

When it comes to innovative thinking and acting, Joanna Lepore - Global Foresight Lead at Mars Wrigley is all heart! In order to help Mars Wrigley identify and capitalize on opportunities for expansive growth, Jo even left her Australian homeland to live nowadays in the US. In this episode, we not only explore the foresight formula at Mars Wrigley with Jo, but also learn why it is so important to...

When Head of Foresight at E.ON and passionate Energy Transition Manager, Thomas Boermans talks about Foresight, he is simultaneously referring to the "effort to build a bridge into the future that we can walk across." At E.ON Thomas takes the lead in developing foresight based on trend and technology developments and provides strategic guidance to capture future opportunities and risks. In this ep...

"If you're gonna go you got to go all in!" - so Danielle Ferry, about setting up Innovation Grow Boards at Moody's Analytics. In her role as Senior Director for New Product Innovation, evolving early-stage product ideas in order to transform them into future-growth initiatives is her daily business. Her mission: Empowering Moody’s customers to make better, faster decisions. In this episode, Daniel...

What do science fiction author Isaac Asimov and manga comics have to do with design thinking? Let's find out! In this episode, Didier Boulet, THALES' first Group Chief Design Officer takes us on an exciting design journey and tells us how a one-year trial run evolved within a few years into a global design center network that now includes 13 design centers worldwide across the THALES Group. Since...

"In einer perfekten Zukunft ist Mobilität kein Zeitfresser mehr."- doch was genau verbirgt sich hinter dieser Aussage? In dieser Folge tauschen wir uns wieder mal mit zwei Gästen aus: Dr. Joscha Märkle-Huß und Sebastian Grimm von der ZF Group. In ihren Rollen als Head of Global Scouting und Head of Innovation Lab sind die beiden ständig auf der Suche nach neuen Konzepten und Ansätzen für die Mobil...

"Beobachten, verstehen und Dinge, die im ersten Anschein nichts miteinander zu tun haben, neu kombinieren – das ist der beste Weg, innovativ zu sein." In dieser Folge begrüßen wir Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sven Schimpf vom Fraunhofer-Verbund Innovationsforschung. Sven befasst sich seit jeher leidenschaftlich mit allem, was neu zukunftsgerichtet ist. Besonders am Herzen liegt Sven dabei die Unterstützung von...

"Observing, understanding and recombining things that at first glance seem unrelated - that's the best way to innovate." Today we welcome Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sven Schimpf from the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research. Sven has long been passionate about everything future-oriented and is particularly enthusiastic about supporting companies in the implementation stages of innovation. In this episode,...

"The COVID 19 pandemic was really the catalyst for this new renaissance that we're living in strategic foresight and there just couldn't be a better time than now to be involved with that topic." In this episode, Lieutenant Colonel Jake Sotiriadis, Ph. D., gives us a glimpse into the Strategic Foresight activities at the U.S. Air Force and the recently released Global Futures Report, which he co-a...

Today with Michael Berns from PwC. Michael is not only an expert in AI & FinTech, but also appears as keynote speaker at international conferences and as guest lecturer at a number of business schools. In this episode, Michael shares with us three exciting use cases on the different application areas of AI, where you subsequently might ask yourself: Is AI actually making the world a better place?...

In dieser Folge gibt uns der ursprünglich gelernte Kulturwirt und Musikpädagoge Benno Blumoser Einblicke in seine Arbeit als Head of Innovation beim Siemens AI Lab. Wir erfahren nicht nur, wie hier KI-basierte Ideen entstehen, sondern auch, warum gerade der richtige Mix aus Nähe und Distanz zum Gesamtkonzern so wichtig ist, um das Potenzial dieses kreativen Co-Working-Spaces voll ausschöpfen zu kö...

In dieser Folge begrüßen wir gleich zwei Gäste: Robin Nehring und Patrick Fritz von der Sparkasse. Gemeinsam sind nicht nur selbst erfolgreiche Podcaster und Host der “Plaudertaschen”, sondern haben sich in ihrer Rolle als Innovationsmanager bzw. Digital Officer ganz der Mitgestaltung des Bankings und der Sparkasse von morgen verschrieben. Anhand konkreter Beispiele wie der Open Innovation Challen...

In this episode food lover & technology scout Jan Lingenbrinck introduces us to the Berlin Food Tech Campus. Together with his team, Jan helps designing and implementing innovative solutions for the food retail industry. In its role as a linking element, the Food Tech Campus matches creative minds and their innovative ideas with the right stakeholders to realize a go-to-market as smoothly as possi...