FEI Innovation Summit: Day 1Monday, 5 October 2026 - US/Mountain

An inside look at how the Denver Broncos use insight‑driven marketing—from gameday and beyond—to build brand lore, deepen fan connection, and sustain one of the NFL’s most iconic franchises

Great ideas don’t fail because they’re bad—they fail because organizations struggle to carry them forward. This panel explores how innovation leaders move promising ideas from concept to commitment by navigating internal hurdles, securing support, and building momentum. Hear what it really takes to ensure the right ideas survive long enough to succeed.

Many organizations invest heavily in breakthrough technologies, yet struggle to translate them into real‑world impact. This case study shares a practical, real‑world example of how emerging technologies are systematically evaluated and advanced by identifying killer questions, executing proof‑of‑concepts, and comparing competing solutions. Attendees will discuss a repeatable approach for de‑risking innovation and landing execution.

What happens when you redesign innovation around generative AI? At Newell Brands, it created a faster, more connected approach to idea development. Chris Gurr will share how InnoGEN, an award-winning internal approach, helped teams strengthen synthesis, expand creative exploration, and move from early signals to actionable concepts with greater speed and confidence. By accelerating learning, leveraging digital teams and winning leadership advocacy the approach helped teams rethink how insights, exploration, and concept development work together at the Front End of Innovation. This session will unpack the model, the adoption journey, and the practical ways FEI teams can apply these tools today to improve innovation quality, increase throughput, and unlock bigger ideas faster.

Most change efforts fail not because the idea is wrong, but because no one takes the time to understand the people being asked to change. In this interactive session, spoken word poet and innovation leader Andrew Embry blends poetry and change management to make empathy a practical, actionable tool — not a soft skill. Through creative exercises like perspective-taking and writing from someone else’s point of view, you’ll learn how to intentionally shape what people think, feel, and do. Expect an engaging, slightly uncomfortable experience that challenges corporate norms, invites authenticity, and equips you with a simple practice to apply before your next initiative: understand first, then design.

When it comes to making purchases, people don’t just think – they feel. Their emotions are at the heart of every decision, often guiding them to make purchases that align with their deeper needs and desires. But what triggers these emotions? Let’s dive into how delivering a holistic sensorial experience across brand, packaging, and product can trigger emotions that build loyalty and ignite growth. Get inspired to reimagine how your offering can consistently deliver an irresistible experience that gets people “hooked on a feeling.”

More details on this session coming soon.

What parallels can be drawn between managing a street gang and managing an innovation team. Explore some of these commonalities from someone who lived them. Antonio Fernandez, aka “King Tone” the former leader of the largest Hispanic Street Gang in the US- explores underground leadership, creativity, innovation, and the art of hustle. What can innovation directors and entrepreneurs learn from drug dealers about overcoming bureaucracies and entrenched power systems? What can black market innovators teach entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs about pushing your idea forward. What commonalities do we see between driving change within a Fortune 500 company and hacking the culture of criminal organizations? What leadership lessons from the underground can we apply to formal institutions?