yet2 Participates in R&D Innovation Summit 2018
The R&D Innovation Summit 2018, takes place March 21 – 22 in Chicago, and yet2 will be participating as a sponsor. Our team of Hat Sawaengrsi, Megan Waldock, and Katie Hassell will be attending the sessions and meeting with fellow attendees of the show. We asked the yet2 team about the presentations they are most excited to attend.
Evolving Innovation in the Corporation – a Case Study, by Roman Dumiak, director, technology innovation, Allstate. Dumiak will present different types of innovation and how to build a Center of Innovation that can drive organizational change. He’ll cover the five key stages that a Center for Innovation can build upon, regardless of your organizational model. Often when one things of innovation, one’s mind immediately goes to physical products or startups in the tech industry.
Why we’ll be at this presentation: We’re interested in hearing how an established insurance agency approaches innovation, and how that differs from innovation in other industries.
The Freshest Insights in New Food Trends, by Thomas Talbert, vice president, Culinary R&D, CSSI Culinary. Talbert will discuss the food trends that are shaping the future of food, including ingredients and flavors that define the new American palate, consumer attitudes around new health and wellness and plant-forward eating.
Why we’ll be at this presentation: Our resident foodie, Hat, is particularly interested in attending this session, since she’s very involved in many of our active projects involving nutrients and nutraceuticals.
Mapping the Smart Home’s Future with Robots, by Chris Jones, vice president of technology, iRobot. Jones will speak about how today’s home robots are capable of mapping and navigating around a home, providing the spatial and environmental context to move connected and “smart” devices from individual functions and features in order to take the smart home to the next level.
Why we’ll be at this presentation: Our team has extensive experience conducting technology searches for IoT and smart devices, so this presentation is a natural for us to attend.
Sustainable Innovation: Building a Balanced Portfolio by Kwabena Osei, director, group product development, Hydro International. Osei will look at the benefits of having a development pipeline that is balanced and how to ensure the right initiatives are resourced, tracked, and evaluated in a timely manner.
Why we’ll be at this presentation: This is a struggle many organizations face. Most importantly, more and more industries are seeing the emergence of disruptors who are unseating the established industry leaders. A vibrant innovation pipeline can be one of the best strategies for not becoming a “disrupted” leader, scrambling to respond to something new and unexpected.
Innovation Fueled by Passion: Lessons from Miles and Coltrane, by Jeffery Ponders II, vice president, director of innovation, Leo Burnett. Ponders, an innovation leader and professional jazz saxophonist, will share lessons from jazz masters to help attendees develop their own unique voice, and to leverage personal passions to unless their competitive edge and rise above the crowd.
Why we’ll be at this presentation: Our team member Megan loves to look at things from a different perspective. She expects to gain new insights by thinking of innovation as it relates to jazz and music, as opposed to taking the traditional STEM view.
Turning Consumer Trends into Best-in-Class Consumer Products, by Ken Dombrowski, senior director of product development & engineering, Craftsman & Diehard Brands, Sears Holdings. Dombrowski will walk through the methodology that Craftsman/Diehard Brands has applied to consumer data and trends to create an effective filtering system for new ideas, features, and products.
Why we’ll be at this presentation: Many of our clients are consumer-facing, so this will be a great session to be able to share with our clients.
Will you be attending the R&D Innovation Summit? Stop by our table (we’re at table #2) and chat with the yet2 team!