Speaking at an InnoLead Event

Interested in speaking at an upcoming InnoLead gathering? Check out the guidelines below, along with sample session titles and examples of past speakers (at the bottom of the page.) 

Our two in-person events planned for 2024 will be in Silicon Valley (May 16th) and in Boston (Oct 23-25.) The former will be capped at 100 participants; the latter, our annual conference Impact, attracts 300+. Agendas for our in-person events tend to be completed 6-8 weeks prior to the event, so please submit as early as possible.

Speakers at IL events:

• Are all involved in fostering innovation within large organizations. They may have roles in R&D, Strategy, Technology, Design, Marketing, HR, or other functions.
• Can be at any level of seniority. We’ve had CEOs of public companies talking about innovation at a high level, as well as innovation catalysts or team members who can teach a particular approach or methodology that they use in their organization.
• Are comfortable speaking without slides. Our typical session formats include interactive breakout sessions and “fireside chat”-style discussions. Most of our sessions are slide-free and instead rely on whiteboards, easel pads, LEGOs, Play-doh, Post-it Notes, and other tools designed to encourage learning and engagement. We encourage limited slides and life-like engagement when participating in virtual events.

We also love to hear about innovation centers, R&D labs, or other spaces your company has that might be interesting to visit, as many of our events are built entirely around these kind of “site visits.”

Here is a photo gallery of some of our mainstage speakers from past events.

If you are a consultant, advisor, software vendor, or another type of firm that markets products or services to corporate executives, please reach out to Alex Slawsby (alex@innovationleader.com) to learn more about our sponsorship opportunities that include an active role at our events.

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Speaker Submission Form:

Examples of Session Titles at IL Events:

• “Digital Transformation in Large Companies: When Worlds Collide” — Mars, Inc.
• “Mergers and Acquisitions: Getting Right the Things That Can Go Wrong” — Walmart
• “Time to Remake The Donuts: A Case Study on Brand Transformation” — Dunkin’ Brands
• “Less is More: Purpose-Driven Innovation and Business Development at Porsche” — Porsche Cars North America
• “Where to Begin: Top 5 Ways to Effectively Define a Need for Your Organization” — Energizer Holdings
• “Facing the Reality: Colleagues Who Believe That They Can Innovate and Don’t Need Your Help” — Philips Healthcare
• “Using a Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) Approach for New Product or Feature Development” — Pearson
• “Understanding Business Needs and Creating a Radar for Emerging Tech” — Swiss Re
• “Corporate Venture Capital — Setting it up for Success” — Samsung Ventures
• “How We’re Exploring and Applying Emerging Technologies like VR, Smart Video, and AR” — Suffolk Construction

Past speakers at IL events include:

• Edward Roussel, CIO, Dow Jones and Wall Street Journal
• Firdaus Bhahena, CDO, CVS Health
• Scott Griffith, CEO, Ford Autonomous Vehicles & Mobility Businesses
• Paul Gaffney, CTO, Kohl’s
• Scott Uzzell, CEO, Converse
• Sian Beilock, President Barnard College
• Janet Sherlock, Chief Information Officer, Ralph Lauren
• Sadie Lincoln, CEO, Barre3
• Curtis Kopf, Chief Experience Officer, REI
• Sajit Joseph, CIO, American Red Cross
• Iya Khalil, Global Head, Novartis AI Innovation Center
• Paul Cobban, Chief Transformation Officer, DBS Bank
• Zack Gipson, SVP of Digital, Charles Schwab
• Vanessa Colella, Chief Innovation Officer, Citi
• Matt Hulett, President, Rosetta Stone
• Arne Sorensen, CEO, Marriott
• Jon McNeill, COO, Lyft
• Bob Maresca, CEO, Bose Corp.
• Jodi Benson, Chief Innovation, Technology and Quality Officer, General Mills
• Mehmood Khan, Vice Chairman & Chief Scientific Officer, Pepsico
• Faisal Masud, COO, Google Wing
• Jean Finnegan, Vice President of Innovation, Nationwide
• Nigel Hughes, SVP of Global Research, Kellogg
• Stephen Kaufer, CEO, TripAdvisor
• Denise Garner, SVP & Chief Innovation Officer, Clorox
• George Corbin, Chief Digital Officer, Mars
• Vicki Dobbs Beck, Executive-in-Charge, ILMxLab / Lucasfilm
• Jen Compton, VP of Innovation & Brand, TD Garden
• Dennis Devine, Co-President Key Community Bank, KeyBank
• Judy Mondello, Vice President of R&D, J.M. Smucker
• Tim Vanderham, Chief Technology Officer, NCR Corp.

Please reach out to events@innovationleader.com with any questions.