The Innovation Brief

In this episode of The Innovation Brief Podcast, host Gabi Matic speaks with Selina Lehmann , Innovation Manager at Mahle and lead of the company's venture clienting programme, about what it really takes to run idea management at scale and what her own academic research reveals about where AI genuinely helps, and where it doesn't. Selina shares how five years managing global ideation pla...

Innovation Without a Playbook, with Dirk Ploss In this episode of The Innovation Brief Podcast, hosts Wil Benton and Gabi Matic speak with Dirk Ploss, digital pioneer and Associate Director Early, Innovation at Beiersdorf, about what three decades of building at the edge of the possible actually looks like, and what it teaches you about innovation, transformation, and getting things done. Dirk sha...

How To Drive Better Energy Decisions: From A to Z In this episode of The Innovation Brief Podcast , hosts Matt Briggs and Gabriella G. Hernandez speak with Thomas Boermans , Head of Trend Intelligence at E.ON , about how innovation leadership is evolving inside one of Europe’s largest energy companies. Thomas shares how foresight has shifted from trend-spotting to becoming a core part of strategic...

Sandra Raad has spent a decade building innovation capacity inside one of the world's most complex humanitarian organisations. Her verdict? Innovation is not a silver bullet - and in a world where 318 million people face acute hunger, that clarity matters. In this episode, Sandra (Head of Innovation Network at the United Nations World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator) joins Innovation Br...

In this episode of the Innovation Brief, hosts Gabriella G. Hernandez and Gabriela  Matic sit down with Alejandro Ortega , Programme Manager at StartLife , co‑founder and Managing Partner at Deep Impact Venture Partners , and co‑creator of Inspira Diaspora .  Alejandro shares his journey from feeling like an outsider in Costa Rica to launching startups, moving to the Netherlands, and now shaping a...

In this episode of the Innovation Brief , co-hosts Gabriela Matic and Gabriella G. Hernandez sit down with Pina Schlombs , Sustainability Lead & Senior Thought Leader on Industrial AI at Siemens Digital Industries Software , to explore what it really takes to transform heavy industry in a world of tightening regulations, ambitious climate targets, and rapidly evolving AI.  Drawing on her exper...

The fashion industry looks fast and innovative from the outside, but behind the surface, it’s one of the most conservative, fragmented, and unregulated systems we have developed. Producing 10% of global emissions and accounting for roughly 40% of waste, it is also one of the most unsustainable industries in the world.  In this episode of Innovation Brief , Fredrik Timour - an entrepreneur, lecture...

The future of UK aerospace is being shaped right now - in strategy documents, funding decisions, and collaborations that most people never see. In this episode of the Innovation Brief , Wil Benton and Matt Briggs speak with Nour Eid , Head of Strategy at the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and former Airbus engineer, about how the UK is building its next generation of aerospace capability – f...

The next generation of innovation leaders is already here- and they are building solutions to the world´s biggest challenges. In this episode of The Innovation Brief , Wil Benton and Gabriella G. Hernandez speak with Aneta Londa , founder of Moonshot Pirates , one of the world's most accessible impact accelerators, now empowering nearly 20,000 young innovators across 160 countries . Aneta sha...

In this episode of Innovation Brief , hosts Gabriella Hernandez and Gabriela Matic sit down with Sanjay Nand , Head of Innovation & Ventures at Capgemini’s Applied Innovation Exchange , to explore what applied innovation really looks like when you combine design futures , artificial intelligence ( AI ), emerging technologies and deeply human, relationship‑driven work. Sanjay explains why his t...

In this episode of the Innovation Brief, our host Gabriella Hernandez speaks with James Ellsmoor, CEO of Island Innovation and a sustainable development advocate for islands.  James and Gaby explore how island communities worldwide are driving climate action, pioneering renewable energy solutions, and building resilient, innovative ecosystems, despite the complex challenges they currently face. Th...

In this episode of the Innovation Brief, hosts Gabriela Matic and Gabriella Hernandez sit down with Priscila Chaves, Innovation and Ecosystem Lead at Cargill, whose global career spans corporate, startup, and public sectors.  Priscilla shares her insights on building resilient innovation systems, the importance of context and collaboration, and how organisations can balance short-term wins with lo...

In this episode of Innovation Brief, we sit down with Léonie Weerakoon, human ecologist, designer, conservationist, investor, and Managing Director of Kinetik Ventures, to explore how nature-centric innovation is reshaping the future of business, policy, and community. Léonie shares her journey across cultures and industries, revealing how treating nature as a collaborator (not just a resource) ca...

In our third episode of the Innovation Brief, Matt Briggs sits down with Gordon Hamilton, Digital Innovation Lead at Heineken UK, for an inside look at how a 150-year-old brewing giant is embracing digital transformation.  Discover how Heineken is reimagining the pub experience for younger generations, addressing sustainability, and driving experimentation through initiatives such as Heineken Stud...

In this episode of the Innovation Brief, hosts Will Benton and Gabriella G. Hernandez sit down with Jonatan Pinkse, Professor of Sustainable Business and Director of the Centre for Sustainable Business at King's Business School, King's College London. Jonatan shares his journey from economics to pioneering research on business responses to climate change, and unpacks what truly defines s...

In our debut episode of Innovation Brief, we sat down with Alisdair Gunn to talk about Scotland's emerging tech landscape and the importance of nurturing the city´s innovation ecosystem. As director of the Glasgow City Innovation District, Gunn reveals how a collaborative, community-driven approach can transform a city's innovation potential. We explore the unique strategies of building...