Innovation Strategy: Tools and Frameworks for Business

Weitz is the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and of Applied Physics at Harvard University. He received his PhD in physics from Harvard University and then joined Exxon Research and Engineering Company, where he worked for nearly 18 years. He then became a professor of physics at the University of Pennsylvania and moved to Harvard at the end of the last millennium as professor of physics and applied physics. He leads a group studying soft matter science with a focus on materials science, biophysics, biotechnology, microfluidics and flow in porous media. Several startup companies have come from his lab to commercialize research concepts.

Dr. David S. Ricketts received his PhD from Harvard University and has held appointments at Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, MIT and North Carolina State University. He was the inaugural Innovation Science Fellow in the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Dr. Ricketts co-teaches ES139 Innovation in Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He teaches and speaks regularly on innovation and business strategy. He focuses on the role of the individual innovator and helps senior leaders develop new innovators and systemic innovation in their companies.

In addition to Dr. Ricketts' innovation research, he is an award winning scientist and engineer whose innovations have been featured by Popular Science, Smithsonian, NBC News, CBS News, Fox News, ESPN, and many other science news outlets. He is the recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the U.S. Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Investigator Award. His work has appeared twice in Nature, as well as numerous IEEE publications. His scientific research focuses on the physical limitations of circuits and systems and how to address them through new materials, circuits and devices.

Shuya Gong is a Preceptor in Harvard University’s Master in Design Engineering program. She also teaches ES 139: Innovation in Science and Technology as was formerly the Design Innovation Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard (TECH). Her research currently focuses on emotional ergonomics and how cyberphysical systems are reshaping human interaction, behavior, and value creation.

Previously, Shuya was an investor and Creative Director at IDEO CoLab Ventures, and served as a Design Director within IDEO’s Emerging Tech, Climate, and Systems Change practices. Her work spans collaboration with Fortune 50 companies including Citi, Nasdaq, Fidelity, H&M, and Target, helping to prototype future strategies, launch new ventures, and develop consumer brands such as Good & Gather, now a multi-billion dollar product line at Target. Across her work with corporations and ventures, she examines how emerging system dynamics position collaborative advantage as the defining factor in organizational competitiveness.

Shuya is also developing new methods and practices in regenerative design, advising a toolkit on Biodiversity+ Design, an initiative recognized by the UN, and apprenticing at Agape Healing, her family’s traditional Chinese medicine practice. Shuya holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Harvard University.

Here for good trouble. As a Global Creative Director, Design Strategist, Jafery’s work is focused on translating the emotional core of design strategies into rich sensorial experiences across mediums. With a background in sociology and psychology, her practice is grounded in cross-cultural trendspotting, brand strategy and storytelling, emerging tech, human-centered design, and a quest for the next global aesthetic edges - all helping rewild our collective imagination.

Over 20+ years in design, Jafery helped guide leaders and teams in designing new brands, products, services and experiences from fashion and hospitality to entertainment and education, for clients like MTV, Beyoncé, Adidas, Bose and beyond. At IDEO, she helped drive the vision of a global collective of 400+ designers, strategists, and makers, leading initiatives to elevate creative culture, bravery, and design futuring practice. Jafery spent the last decade in the Middle East, where she launched and led the Dubai Design Lab, a collaboration between IDEO and the UAE government to uplift the creativity of the nation and design new strategies, services, spaces, and ministries.

Most recently, Jafery co-founded the Friday Gallery in Los Angeles, a platform to celebrate creative voices from the Middle East, South Asia, and across the Global South. In her design consultancy practice, she works with global clients curious to challenge old norms in service of braver, more beautiful futures for all.

Brian is a seasoned entrepreneur who has been developing companies across beauty, health, politics, and entertainment for more than a decade. Along with his business partner, Julie Schott, they have successfully created a handful of consumer brands focused on bringing accessibility and optimism to the personal care space. These companies include one of the nation’s fastest growing acne care brands, Starface, emergency contraceptive brand, Julie, and Blip.

These brands have amassed substantial digital audiences across social media and are consistently ranked as the most engaged audiences of any consumer brand.

Previously, he worked as the head of innovation for Hudson’s Bay Company where he brokered the relationship between HBC and WeWork, resulting in a transaction of over 1.3B USD. Prior to HBC, Brian started his career as a Teach For America teacher in New Orleans post Katrina, and founded Dinner Lab, which operated in over 25 cities in the United States.

Brian has been featured on Anderson Cooper 360, ESPN, The Today Show, CBS News, and has spoken at TEDxGoldenGateED, The Feast Social Innovation Conference, and universities throughout the country.

John is the head of Galvanize Studios, which most recently engaged with Amazon Prime Video, helping the product design team to envision the future of the experience. Prior to this, Galvanize Studios worked with Verses.ai on their product vision video and strategy. John was formerly Chief Experience Officer of Blockchain Creative Labs, a Fox company, and Former VP of Product Design at Hulu.