Innovation Answered

When it comes to consumer packaged goods, the Kellogg Company is a big player, with about $13.5 billion in revenue. But the company's best-known breakfast items face a tougher landscape as more people choose to skip the most important meal of the day. To find out how the company is reimagining their business through R&D, we sat down with Nigel Hughes, Senior Vice President of Global Research and Development at Kellogg's. 

While innovation can be difficult at any company, highly regulated industries with a thick rule book — both internally and from the government — face more roadblocks along the innovation journey. To find out how highly regulated companies can chalk up innovation wins, we sat down with Mohan Nair, Chief Innovation Officer at Cambia Health Solutions. Guests include Steve Faktor, host of the McFuture Podcast and the former Vice President of Business Growth and Innovation at American Express, and Ludwig Melik, CEO of the agile innovation company Planbox.

While everyone knows Star Wars and Indiana Jones, not everyone is familiar with ILMxLAB, Lucasfilm’s immersive entertainment division. In this episode, we sit down with Vicki Dobbs Beck, the Executive in Charge of ILMxLAB, to find out how her team uses new technology to bring stories to life. Topics of discussion include, virtual reality, augmented reality, tech scouting, and testing new ideas with end users. 

Corporate teams know they should be tapping into the startup ecosystem somehow, but they don’t always know how to get started. In this episode, we explore different ways innovators engage with startups and how they forge more meaningful relationships. Guests include Arvind Purushotham, the Head of Venture Investing at Citi Ventures, Northwestern Professor Mohan Sawhney, and Jenny Lawton, COO of Techstars.

In the age of Amazon, how are retailers staying relevant with customers? We went to the National Retail Federation's annual Big Show to find out. Guests include Kambiz Hemati, Footlocker's Vice President of Global Store Design; Nicole Leinbach Reyhle, founder of the publication Retail Minded; and Joe Pine, author of The Experience Economy.

Clay Christensen seems larger than life to corporate innovators. His book, The Innovator’s Dilemma is still considered a business leader must-read. We wanted to know how Christensen's ideas apply in 2019. To find out, we sat down with Innovation Leader's Scott Kirsner to discuss his interviews with the acclaimed professor.

The second season of our podcast starts on March 19th. Find out more about our show and catch up on bonus content at innovationleader.com/podcast. 

What are corporate innovators thinking about in the first quarter of 2019? We sat down with Professor Gary Pisano at Harvard Business School to find out. In this interview, Pisano discussed last years innovation wins and his new book, Creative Construction. We also talked to our Editor and CEO Scott Kirsner to find out what Innovation Leader members are thinking about in the new year.

How can AI help turn restaurant customers into regulars? We sat down with Sherif Mityas, TGI Friday's Chief Experience Officer to find out. Other topics of discussion include personalization, catering to millennials, and best practices for innovation. 

With increased traffic and decreased parking, many urbanites have opted out of owning a car. So what will the future of mobility look like? We talked to Jon McNeill, COO of Lyft, about what consumers can expect moving forward. In this interview, Jon also discussed his experience at Tesla and his move to the ride sharing industry.