Speaker: Cheryl Perkins

Cheryl Perkins, founder and president of Innovationedge, shares her insights on sustainability. In this Podcast, Cheryl starts by defining sustainability, including a holistic view of being “green.” She addresses the importance of making sure the economic, social and environmental systems that you leverage are sustainable. Cheryl  offers examples of companies that have taken green to the next step, including Wal-Mart, Unilever and IBM. She concludes by discussing how businesses can be profitable with their green initiatives, emphasizing balance and holistic solutions. She also encourages analyzing your business strategy, product portfolio and operating practices.

 

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Appleton, Wis. (August 13, 2008) — Innovationedge, a global strategic innovation consultancy, has announced the addition of Mike Italiano to their innovation strategy team. As Director of Business Development, Italiano will help clients create new products, services and business models by leveraging structured open innovation techniques to discover, analyze and define new partnerships, alliances, and business propositions.

“As a new leader on the Innovationedge team, Michael will provide an in-depth understanding of our clients’ needs, market trends, and innovative business propositions that generate outstanding experiences for their customers,” said Cheryl Perkins, president and founder of Innovationedge. “We are pleased that his expertise and excitement for new inventions, brokering, and deal structuring will broaden our market reach and positively impact our current and future clients.”

Italiano is an experienced professional with over 16 years of leadership experience in strategic business, cross-functional team leadership, deal-structuring, negotiation and execution, and strategic alliance management. He is passionate about creating value through business development and open innovation.

Prior to joining Innovationedge, Italiano held many senior management positions, including leading Kimberly-Clark’s Business Development, Global Alliances and Technology Acquisitions team. Prior to his tenure with Kimberly-Clark, Michael was Director, Corporate Development with Schwarz Pharma, Inc. where he was involved in a series of high-value transactions leading up to the ultimate sale of the Schwarz Group. Italiano began his career with Deloitte & Touche and subsequently spent several years in various financial positions with Cooper Power Systems, Inc., a division of Cooper Industries.

Italiano earned his MBA from the University of North Carolina and his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, Magna cum Laude, from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Although no longer currently practicing finance and accounting any, he is both a Certified Pubic Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant.

About Innovationedge:
Innovationedge is a global strategic innovation consultancy based in Wisconsin. The team’s fearless champions of innovation break barriers to help executives define their business strategy, develop new capabilities, design a winning organizational structure, and deliver breakthrough innovations through a robust growth pipeline of solutions and new-to-the-world innovations. The company also gives inventors an edge by crafting winning business propositions and creating strategic corporate partnerships that deliver commercial success. For more information, visit http://www.innovationedge.com

Speaker: Cheryl Perkins

Cheryl Perkins, founder and president of Innovationedge, shares her insights on attracting, retaining and developing innovators. In this Podcast, Cheryl starts by suggesting some skill sets to look for in potential innovating employees and the importance of defining roles and capabilities when hiring new innovators. She also gives some helpful tips on where to go to find creative employees. Addressing employee retention, Cheryl presents some do’s and don’ts when striving for high employee retention. Cheryl concludes by offering some learning opportunities and experiences that are a great way to develop your employees, as well as other recommendations for bringing out the best in your employees.

 

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Appleton, Wis. (July 7, 2008) — Innovationedge, a global strategic innovation consultancy, assisted in the development of KlenzPod™ which recently won the inaugural Innovation Award at the annual World of Wipes (WOW 2008) Conference. Mick Gordon, the inventor of KlenzPod, was honored for his innovative approach and elegant solution to the lack of efficient wet wipe disposal facilities on the market. This award-winning new system was developed for offices and public buildings to provide employees and customers easy access to single wet wipes.

“I am truly delighted that KlenzPod has won the Innovation Award at WOW 2008. KlenzPod and the related suite of products have received numerous top awards at some of the biggest inventors shows in the world. However, this accolade is particularly important because it has been awarded by those directly involved in the non-woven industry who understand the industry and the commercial impact that KlenzPod could have,” says Gordon.

The stylish new KlenzPod system introduces a suite of patent-pending innovations to many industries, including consumer use, industrial applications, food service and health care. The key innovation in the KlenzPod system is the NippleNozzle™, which allows only one wipe to be pulled from the dispenser every time. This provides easy use, prevents moisture loss and eliminates unnecessary waste. The elegant dispenser can also be mounted securely to walls, medical trolleys, bathroom stalls and changing stations in office facilities, hotels, or restaurants.

“We have purposely designed the system to not only be easy to use, but also look great. The KlenzPod is receiving enthusiastic acceptance from those who would like to install them where appearance is of critical importance in addition to functionality,” says Mick Gordon, inventor of KlenzPod. “Everyone who sees them loves them, so we hope we can come to an agreement with a major manufacturer in the near future and get the product out to a very eager public as soon as possible.”

Also attending WOW 2008 was Cheryl Perkins, CEO and founder of Innovationedge, who along with her colleagues, assisted with the development of the product. Innovationedge is continuously dedicated to assisting in the development of new and innovative products, including new ways to improve hygiene.

“We are thrilled to be part of an award-winning innovation that will add value across many industries and provide businesses with a stylish, fast and easy solution to keep their employees healthy,” said Perkins. “At the end of the day, business is important, but if your business can improve the lives of others, it’s a great feeling.”

The WOW 2008 Conference, held in Chicago from June 16-18, was organized by INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry and devoted solely to wipes. The WOW Awards recognize and reward the industry members who bring innovative and value-added processes and product enhancements to the wipes market. KlenzPod was among five other products nominated by the industry earlier this year.

About Innovationedge:
Innovationedge is a global strategic innovation consultancy based in Wisconsin. The team’s fearless champions of innovation break barriers to help executives define their business strategy, develop new capabilities, design a winning organizational structure, and deliver breakthrough innovations through a robust growth pipeline of solutions and new-to-the-world innovations. The company also gives inventors an edge by crafting winning business propositions and creating strategic corporate partnerships that deliver commercial success. For more information, visit Innovationedge.com

Innovationedge leverages a proprietary approach called “Completing the Circuit of Innovation®” to connect the innovations to the marketplace. The June 2008 newsletter describes their approach for creating a competitive edge by crafting intellectual asset strategies and winning business propositions. Listen to podcasts and hear how inventors and entrepreneurs are engaged in creating disruptive innovations, intellectual assets and partnerships that deliver commercial success.

The Circuit - June 2008 (PDF)

Speaker: Martha Silcott

Inventor Martha Silcott speaks about what it takes to successfully bring products to market. In this Podcast, she shares the challenges of being an inventor and insights of early challenges, such as manufacturing prototypes. Martha also provides some advice on protecting your inventions, joining inventor forums, and preparing for the duration.

 

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Speaker: Brian Fried of Think Up Designs

Prolific inventor Brian Fried, President of Think Up Designs, speaks about what it takes to successfully bring products to market. In this Podcast, he shares the challenges of being an inventor and offers hints for those just beginning the process of getting an idea to market. Brian also provides some insight on protecting your inventions and never giving up.

 

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Speaker: Jeff Lindsay

Jeff Lindsay, Director of Solution Development at Innovationedge, explores disruptive innovation. After offering Innovationedge’s definition of disruptive innovation, Jeff gives some examples of different innovations that fall into that category. He also addresses the advantages and disadvantages of introducing a disruptive innovation into the marketplace, as well as some of the challenges involved. He also introduces some case studies from companies that have both profited from and passed by innovations that have since changed how consumers behave. Jeff concludes by letting listeners in on some upcoming disruptive innovations from Innovationedge.

 

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Speaker: Cheryl Perkins

Cheryl Perkins, Founder and President of Innovationedge, addresses the challenges and struggles of delivering growth and true innovation. Innovation is not a formula and is not one-size fits all. In this Podcast, Cheryl describes the Circuit of Innovation, a trademarked, proprietary capability offered by Innovationedge. She explains the necessity of a roadmap to deliver disruptive innovation, and changing what the world needs instead of having the world change you.

 

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Appleton, Wis. (May 20, 2008) — Cheryl Perkins, Founder and President of Innovationedge, is pleased to announce the addition of Julie Gerstle to her team.

As Innovationedge’s Business Development Leader, Gerstle leverages her expertise in strategy development and marketing to help clients identify and execute innovative change, enabling them to harness disruptive innovations to succeed in an increasingly competitive market.

Gerstle brings more than a decade of experience in marketing and strategic planning for hi-tech and consumer companies. She is also a graduate of Princeton University and received her MBA (with distinction) from Oxford University Said Business School. Prior to moving to the Fox Cities area, she was an account executive for BBDO where she led advertising campaigns for Wrigley’s Spearmint. Gerstle also conducted in-depth competitive analysis as a Market Intelligence Analyst at IBM, which resulted in leading and implementing growth plans as a product manager for IBM’s WebSphere Portal.

“Julie brings a dynamic excitement to our team and our expanding list of clients,” says Perkins. “Her valuable expertise helps clients to identify market gaps and opportunities, research competitive trends, and develop business plans that focus on turning great ideas into executable actions.”

About Innovationedge:
Innovationedge is a global strategic innovation consultancy based in Wisconsin. The team’s fearless champions of innovation break barriers to help executives define their business strategy, develop new capabilities, design a winning organizational structure, and deliver breakthrough innovations through a robust growth pipeline of solutions and new-to-the-world innovations. The company also gives inventors an edge by crafting winning business propositions and creating strategic corporate partnerships that deliver commercial success. For more information, visit Innovationedge.com.