The VentureFuel Visionaries

In this episode, we dive into the breakthrough trends and innovations unveiled at Expo West 2025. Our very own Innovation team members, Katrina Zheleznyak and Beau Bergman break down the highlights from this massive event, which brought together over 65,000 industry professionals and more than 3,000 exhibitors. From game-changing products to sustainable solutions and cutting-edge technologies, they share key takeaways that showcase what’s shaping the future of food. Tune in now to discover what’s next in food innovation! Note: parts of this episode were produced using the Audio Overview feature from NotebookLM, a personalized AI research assistant.

From Clayton Christensen to Steve Wozniak to Mookie Wilson, we cover a lot of ground with Seth Adler who is the head of IMI Media at Informa and a driving force behind All Things Insights and All Things Innovation. Seth has spent his career bringing people together through dynamic content, including events, podcasts, and written works. He’s also played a pivotal role in shaping conversations at industry-leading events like FEI: Front End of Innovation, where he facilitates impactful discussions on topics such as AI trends, business transformation, and consumer insights. Today we talk about FEI 2025 which focused on the intersection of business strategy and innovation with its theme of “Harvesting Innovation: Sowing the Seeds of Future Growth."

Jim Lecinski, Clinical Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, has over 30 years of marketing experience, including a distinguished 12-year tenure as Vice President of Customer Solutions for the Americas at Google. He is a leading expert in marketing strategy and digital transformation, best known for pioneering the concept of the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT), which revolutionized how consumers research products online before buying, as detailed in his influential book Winning the Zero Moment of Truth. Jim’s latest work, The AI Marketing Canvas, offers a practical five-stage roadmap for integrating artificial intelligence into marketing strategies and is widely recognized as a top AI and business book. In this conversation, Jim shares insights from his career, discusses the evolving role of AI in marketing, and introduces a powerful 2x2 framework for corporate leaders to begin thinking strategically about AI adoption in their organizations. Tune in for expert guidance on winning in today’s digital and AI-driven marketing landscape.

Midwest Dairy represents over 4,000 dairy farms across a 10-state region, including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma. Their mission is to build dairy demand by inspiring consumer confidence in dairy products and production practices. Sidney Herr, the Research & Innovation Manager at Midwest Dairy, plays a pivotal role in advancing dairy innovation, particularly with the upcoming Midwest Dairy Accelerator (midwestdairyaccelerator.com) which supports and accelerates entrepreneurs with new dairy-based products. Applications open through May 11, 2025.

Dean Carignan and JoAnn Garbin, authors of The Insider's Guide to Innovation at Microsoft, delve into the strategies and practices that have driven Microsoft's most groundbreaking innovations over the past 50 years. From the Xbox revolution to the rise of Bing in AI, Dean and JoAnn share behind-the-scenes stories and insights into the company's approach to innovation. We discuss the risks of fast-following, how not to “get Googled,” the value of biomimicry and infinite innovation loops, the evolution from know-it-alls to learn-it-alls, how to transform a weaponized org chart to open-sourced, extreme collaborator. We talk about how entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs must be storytellers, boundary crossers (“habitual line-steppers”) and salespeople that always build coalitions. We also talk about creating a culture of trust where you can and must “Say It Ugly” to pretty it up later, together.

Hans Balmaekers is the Chief of Innov8rs, a global community dedicated to empowering corporate innovators. Hans has spent over a decade collaborating and learning about how to innovate within the world’s top organizations and shares some of his top tips with us, such as how the best corporate innovators have a day job (innovation, the work), a night job (gathering support and buy-in) and a weekend job (transforming ways of working). VentureFuel is a proud sponsor of Innov8rs and their upcoming conference, that isn’t really a conference in Phoenix this April where we will be hosting a workshop on how to tune your corporate innovation practice to deliver results today, while preparing your business for tomorrow.

In this episode of VentureFuel Visionaries, we explore how collaboration drives innovation with five visionary leaders. From AWS’s Charlotte Newman on global founder support to LG’s Marita McGinn on equity-free startup models, we dive into the power of partnerships. MassRobotics’ Sokwoo Rhee shares insights on public-private alliances, REI’s Dan Kihanya highlights community-driven growth, and ExxonMobil’s Kyle J. Basler-Reeder explains venture clienting. Tune in to discover how these leaders are reshaping innovation through strategic collaboration.

On today's show, we have Leslie Shannon, the Head of Trend and Innovation Scouting at Nokia, where she specializes in identifying disruptive technologies that are shaping the future of connectivity. She is an accomplished author of two influential books: "Interconnected Realities," which explores the Metaverse, and "Virtual Natives." We discuss everything from the timeline for GenAl adoption in Hollywood to Al Cat Doors and Autonomous Dishwashers at CES to Al-RAN tech that would place Nvidia GPUs in the radio access network. This would enable next-level edge computing that would have massive implications for telcos, their suppliers, consumers, and the enablement of future technologies like AR, VR, and the like.

Dive into the latest health trends and shifting consumer preferences in the dairy industry with a dynamic panel featuring John Crawford, SVP of Client Insights for the Dairy Category at Circana; Donna Berry, Editor & Consultant at Dairy & Food Communications Inc.; Patrycja Kotowska, Category Strategy Manager at Sprouts Farmers Market; and Fred Schonenberg, Founder & CEO of VentureFuel. Recorded live at the Real California Milk Excelerator’s Future of Dairy Expo in November 2024, this discussion covers everything from lactose-free products to sourcing transparency and the growing demand for products that align with consumer values.

In this thought-provoking episode, John Talbot, CEO of the California Milk Advisory Board and Fred Schonenberg, Founder & CEO of VentureFuel; sit down with Elizabeth Crawford, Senior Editor at FoodNavigator-USA, to discuss the balance between tradition and innovation in the dairy industry. Recorded at the Real California Milk Excelerator’s Future of Dairy Expo in November 2024, the conversation highlights how the dairy industry has evolved, with modern innovations coexisting alongside traditional practices to meet the needs of today’s consumers.