2012 IRI Annual Meeting
Registration now open
Registration is easy. Register online or download a registration form to fax or email. Registration deadline: April 6. Please see early bird registration bonus below!
"Driving Growth. Here, There & Everywhere"
Innovation is a fuel for future growth. Many new drivers are changing the way companies are managing their innovation systems, including the pace of change, availability of talent and a reframing to a new world market. As companies examine these new markets and regions in developing their growth strategies, they are focusing on how they can best manage both the front and execution sides of innovation.
Attendees will gain answers to how companies are managing innovation outside their home country and how companies in other regions (e.g. Europe, Asia) manage innovation for their local and overseas markets. What can we learn from others who are doing things differently? Which companies are looking at and beyond BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India & China) and how is their innovation process different?
Presenters will offer the audience fresh perspectives from organizations and international companies not historically represented in past dialogues and have them share methods, challenges and successes in emerging economies and from different perspectives in the ecosystem.
The 2012 Annual Meeting focuses on the following topics:
- Front End Innovation in a Global Ecosystem
- Innovation Execution: The Back End
- Serial Innovators
- and, more
Confirmed Keynotes & Featured Speakers:
- Mr. John W. McDonald, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Chevron Corporation
- Vijay Govindarajan, PhD, Earl C. Daum 1924 Professor of International Business, Dartmouth College
- F. Emil Jacobs, PhD, Vice President, Research and Development, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (2012 IRI Medalist)
- John J. Curro, PhD, Victor Mills Fellow, Procter and Gamble Company (2012 IRI Achievement Award Recipient)
Register by March 15 to receive a copy of Vijay Govindarajan’s new book, “Reverse Innovation,” mailed to you immediately upon its release in April. Be informed prior to VG’s keynote on May 9th!
Front End Innovation in a Global Ecosystem
“Driving Growth: Here, There and Everywhere” in the current environment leads naturally to exploration of how to find, develop and differentiate a company’s offerings in worldwide markets. Global revenue growth implies good understanding of local expertise, issues, opportunities, preferences, culture and the community/ecosystem participants. How do companies based in different regions of the world approach this? How do they manage the front end of innovation to find success in U.S. markets? Real world examples showcase how innovation and business models aligned with market needs successfully generate profitable revenue growth globally.
Attendees examine important factors in front end processes, including:
- Effective Innovation Portfolio Management
- Prioritization (working on the right things)
- Identifying Market Needs
- Understanding Local Market Drivers
- Communicating and collaborating across the enterprise
Innovation Execution
There is great deal of innovation study, literature, and conference agendas devoted to the front end of the innovation process – sometimes called the “fuzzy front end” – due in large part to the unique challenges associated with turning a nascent idea into comprehensive innovation initiative. In contrast, much less attention has been given to the “other side of innovation,” where the innovation becomes a market reality and value is created for the benefit of the customers served by the innovator. The challenges in delivering, or executing innovation (while they are very different from the front end challenges) can be even more important and impactful, since they ultimately determine the commercial success or failure. Presentations highlight how firms in the various regions manage this all-important part of innovation.
Attendees examine important factors in product, service and process innovation execution including:
- Recognizing – and actively managing – the conflict/tension between innovation and ongoing operations (sometimes referred to as the “Performance Engine”)
- Powerfully engaging current and potential customers or target markets throughout the process
- Talent considerations in building teams – when/how to create a dedicated team, critical success factors, dealing with career risk, and where/how to utilize shared staff
- The role of the supervising executive – going beyond sponsor to actively engaged and committed advocate for the innovation team
- Proactively and effectively engaging other key functions (e.g., Sales, Marketing, Operations, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Capital Delivery, etc.) as the innovation progresses toward commercial launch
- Running disciplined experiments focused on learning and addressing the key uncertainties
- Engaging all current and future stakeholders in the development of any new ecosystem requirements
- Developing a comprehensive launch plan, including actions and support AFTER the launch
2011 Annual Meeting Quick Facts:
- 415+ registered individuals -- the largest IRI Annual meeting in a decade
- More than 232 organizations in attendance
- 110+ first-time attendees
- Preliminary survey results indicate that 98% of attendees rated networking good to excellent
- Top reasons for attending: Networking and Subject matter