In this session, we'll discuss the evolution of the corporate innovation function so far, and what will be next. Will innovation be a separate function, or integrated in other functions and business operations? If separate, what will be the scope and how will success be measured? What does this all mean for you as innovation professional? In some companies, innovation is still a risky step that could easily derail your career; will that change in the next years? Beyond an innovation role, how can you still leverage your innovation skill- and mindset in other functions? Join the conversation with Gina, John, Andrea and Anthony to get different perspectives on the questions above, and of course, add your own as well.

Gina Colarelli O’Connor is Professor of Innovation Management and Fischer Family Chaired Professor at Babson College. She conducts research and teaches on the topic of Corporate Innovation. Gina has published numerous scholarly papers and co-authored three books for organizational leaders on managing breakthrough innovation in large mature companies. Five of her papers have received best paper of the year awards. The second book, Grabbing Lightning was named one of the top books of the year by Strategy + Business Magazine in 2009 and the third, Beyond the Champion: Institutionalizing Innovation through People, was nominated for the Academy of Management’s Best Book of the Year in 2019. In 2018 Gina was honored to be named a Crawford Fellow by the Product Development & Management Association. She has worked with many mature organizations to help them build Strategic Innovation capabilities, and now is converting her research into Executive Education as the academic leader of Babson’s Corporate Innovation Practice area. John Metselaar has turned his 30-year global Vice-President-level leadership responsibilities at Procter & Gamble into expertise in Leadership, Innovation, Strategy, and Organizational Culture. His extensive P&G experience has included on-the-ground working experience in Cincinnati-U.S.A., Kobe-Japan, and he left as CTO of P&G’s pivotal Brussels Innovation Center. He now teaches, speaks, inspires, and advises broader audiences living his purpose of Passion for Innovation, Fascination with Leadership, and the Power of Connecting. John has become Professor of Management Practice, teaching at Solvay Brussels School for Economics and Management. He also is Director at The Conference Board (NYC) owning its global Innovation & Digital Transformation Institute, and its European, Asian, and Gulf-Region Innovation Councils – in which he brings senior Innovation Executives together to grow their Innovation competence. John further serves as Executive Advisor, “Philosopher”, and Key-note Speaker on Innovation, Leadership, Strategy, and Culture – working with companies as AB-InBev, Bayer, Ecolab, Deloitte, Pfizer, Mediamarkt, PMI, and more. Andrea Kates is a Silicon Valley-based expert at moving innovation to revenue. For 20 years she’s led bold initiatives in virtually every sector and every geography that help companies figure out where to place their bets on emerging products, services, and technologies and to scale dynamic business models. In essence: How do you disrupt before being disrupted, avoid the blind side and get ahead of the future? Former tech CEO, growth advisor, and thought leader: CXO Forum (Tokyo), TED main stage, Aspen Institute Ideas Festival, Copenhagen Fintech. Author: Find Your Next + Futureproofing : Next. Masterclass series: Get To Next. More than ever, organizations are looking to create new innovative and digital initiatives that drive sustained growth and impact in constantly shifting environments. Anthony Ferrier works with organizations to build effective strategies, systems and capabilities that create exceptional customer-focused innovative and digital products / solutions. Anthony has driven change at some some of the world's largest and most complex organizations in Australia, the US and Europe. For the past 13+ years he has shaped the innovation and digital industry's development as an entrepreneur, business leader, consultant, author, speaker and board member.