FEI25: Day 1Monday, 19 May 2025 - ET (Eastern Time, GMT-05:00)

PROXY MEETING 1 ALPHA
Transformational Task Force Lessons Learned
Vivian Tsaklanganos, Global H2/H3 Innovation Director, Colgate-Palmolive
Leveraging her expertise in driving disruptive global initiatives, Vivian shares practical insights on the process to follow for H2/H3 innovation, including standardizing the innovation funnel phases (Discovery, Incubation, GTM-Test, and Scale), streamlining value chain processes, and achieving optimal ways of working and team resourcing. Participants will gain actionable strategies for forming agile distributed teams, defining clear roles & responsibilities and deploying resources effectively, ultimately enhancing their organizations' ability to translate innovative ideas into successful market outcomes. Key discussion points include:

• Standardizing the funnel
• Optimizing value chain processes
• Realizing optimal team resourcing and ways of working

PROXY MEETING 1 BETA
Unpacking Design Thinking (Collective Intelligence Workshop Part I)
Harsh Wardhan, Innovation Manager, Google
Take a critical deep dive into the practical application of design thinking principles, specifically tailored for innovation experts and corporate changemakers.

• Participants will gain actionable insights into navigating the intricate interplay of desirability, feasibility, and viability, enabling them to make informed, impactful decisions.
• This session goes beyond theoretical frameworks, equipping attendees with tangible methods to simplify complex challenges, foster cross-functional team alignment around human-centered needs, and drive transformative innovation.
• By challenging ingrained assumptions and pushing the boundaries of conventional thinking, participants will learn to unlock new avenues for business value creation.

This is an essential opportunity for those seeking to refine their innovation toolkit and lead their organizations towards a future defined by strategic, human-centric solutions.

PROXY MEETING 1 GAMMA
Leveraging Your Personal Strengths for Success

Christine Minh-Minh Garner, CliftonStrengths Trainer & Talent Alchemist, Talent Alchemy

This discussion focuses on self-awareness, strategic application of strengths in diverse teams, and leveraging raw potential to transform into value and impact. She discusses a holistic approach, that considers both individual and collective dynamics.

• Identifying core strengths: This includes recognizing individual talents and capabilities.
• Strategic application: Understanding how to effectively use those strengths within organizational contexts
• Interpersonal dynamics: Navigating and leveraging strengths in interactions with diverse personality types
• Transformative storytelling: Crafting authentic narratives, that connect with others

Learn a Real-World approach to adapting and winning using AI as the catalyst that enhances the relationship between adaptation and innovation as an always-on innovation partner that ensures you listen and respond in the right way based on the right voices with the right timing.

What you’ll learn:

1. Why agile adaptation and always-on innovation is more important than ever as consumer behavior is shifting 10-20X faster. It is no longer sustainable to look at trends, needs, and jobs to be done just once a year or on a project basis.
2. How to adapt BOTH how you are innovating and what you are innovating now that moving faster is not enough. Introducing the Finch Five Principles of Innovation.
3. How the power of AI can make adaption proactive and innovation predictive ensuring everything is faster, smarter, and more aligned to reality with an accelerated feedback loop giving you signals of change with eyes and ears at scale and rapid prototyping to create, test, iterate new ideas instantly.

Innovation executives are under enormous pressure to deliver on AI initiatives for their companies and integrate AI into their day-to-day practices. AI evangelists claim that it's a magic bullet that will save time, improve outcomes, and enable deeper understanding of innovation processes, but is AI too good to be true? With the technology moving so quickly, it's hard for leaders to sort through the hype and understand what's real. This talk digs into the risks, opportunities, and pitfalls of using AI in innovation processes, uses the Lux AI Application Selection Framework to identify the most impactful use of AI in innovation, and builds a roadmap for innovation leaders to begin their implementation journey.

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, managing large-scale crowdsourcing initiatives can quickly become overwhelming.

In this session, hear how one organization transformed a complex, resource-intensive crowdsourcing process into an efficient, scalable service by partnering with a trusted external expert. Learn how this strategic collaboration accelerated delivery, improved quality, and freed up internal teams to focus on innovation.

If you’re looking to turn your crowdsourcing challenges into streamlined successes, this is the session for you.

No two innovation pipelines look the same—especially at the front end, where ambiguity thrives and the rules are still being written. So how can Technology and AI make a real impact where it matters most? Join Erica Norton, insights leader at The Hershey Company, for an energizing fireside chat on how AI is transforming different types of early-stage innovation—from product development to category creation and beyond. Packed with real-world examples and actionable insights, this session will help you spot high-impact use cases and rethink what's possible at the front end of your innovation process.

Expand your network of innovation experts and corporate changemakers through quick 1:1 starter meetings.

Rapidly explore each other’s abilities and continue the conversation during the next break, cocktail or meal.

Building a world-class incubation program locally and globally, using a VC-like approach and leveraging AI at every step to deliver Proof of Value in a 3-month timeframe.

Expand your network of innovation experts and corporate changemakers through quick 1:1 starter meetings.

Rapidly explore each other’s abilities and continue the conversation during the next break, cocktail or meal.