How Moody’s Turns Customer Insight into Breakthrough Innovation

In this episode of the AlchemistX Innovators Inside Podcast, Ian Bergman sits down with Conrad Wade—Director of Strategy & Innovation at Moody’s—to unpack the real‑world playbook behind turning Fortune 500 scale into startup‑speed creativity. Conrad reveals why every one of Moody’s 14,000 employees is now considered a “prompt engineer,” and how that mindset shift is helping the 115‑year‑old firm stay ahead of generative AI, quantum computing, and whatever comes next.

Listen to learn:

• The first domino of innovation – mapping a “day‑in‑the‑life” of your users before writing a single line of code.

• Why friction is your friend – and how to channel cross‑functional tension into market‑ready ideas.

• Execution > ideas – the simple change‑management moves that turn big concepts into bottom‑line results.

• Startups as radar – Conrad’s method for scouting early‑stage founders to spot horizon‑three threats (now collapsing to six months!).

• Leadership’s role – what happens when the C‑suite declares, “You’re all innovators,” and means it.

• Future‑proofing with tech – from gen‑AI enablement to the looming impact of quantum on credit‑risk modeling.
  

Whether you’re fighting ivory‑tower thinking, launching an internal AI initiative, or hunting for your company’s next competitive moat, this conversation is packed with tactics you can use Monday morning.

Connect with Conrad on LinkedIn and send your questions to innovators@alchemistaccelerator.com for a chance to be featured in a future episode.

For more episodes and resources, visit https://www.alchemistaccelerator.com/podcasts.