About Speaker Gaia Grant…
Gaia Grant is a passionate PhD researcher and internationally recognised thought leader /innovation coach. Gaia has uncovered fascinating original insights into how to lead a culture that will support innovation. In her presentations Gaia combines a rigour for identifying fresh and relevant research results with decades of executive consulting experience including for Fortune 500 companies through to NFPs worldwide. With an engaging and unique interactive presentation style, Gaia is recognised as a go-to expert in the area and she is regularly asked to share her insights globally.
Gaia’s breakthrough studies with the Discipline of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Sydney have led to the creation of the breakthrough ‘Innovation Change Leader’ (iCLi) profile measure and ‘Polar Positioning’ (PoP) tools, which identify how to lead a sustainable culture for both incremental improvement and breakthrough innovation. Her research has included intensive year-long immersion case studies, interviews and surveys with hundreds of global innovation leaders, and surveys with thousands of other leaders internationally. Gaia’s recent white paper on “What it means to be an ambidextrous innovation leader: Developing greater agility for sustainability in a rapidly changing world” has been well received by innovation leaders globally, and her iCLi tool has been used in a broad range of contexts including by the government of Dubai, by CEO organisations in the US, and by global finance institutions along with NFPs. Gaia has also co-authored a number of books on her insights, including the breakthrough book ‘The Innovation Race: How to change a culture to change the game’, and international bestseller ‘Who Killed Creativity?… And How Can We Get It Back?’
With a unique ability to apply her fascinating research insights in her work, Gaia has assisted a range of clients including Google (US), JP Morgan (Asia Pacific), Visa (US), Salesforce (Asia Pacific), Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts (Canada), Citibank (Asia Pacific), Baker & McKenzie (Asia Pacific), Colgate Palmolive (Innovation Lab Central America), Deutsche Bank (Asia Pacific) and many other MNCs through to government organisations and NFPs who can all attest to her insightful and engaging approach.
Gaia has presented engaging and interactive keynotes at a number of high-profile events including Salesforce International Roadshow, Gartner Symposium, Optus / Singtel national event, Worktech International Conferences, Vivid, Integrity, and the Growth Faculty Conference. Selected industry keynote and workshop presentations have included Ci Creative Innovation Conference and the Creative Problem Solving Institute at the State University of New York. She has also presented her research findings in a number of universities and at major academic forums, including the Academy of Management and European Group of Organisation Studies Symposia.
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A particular area of interest is ‘purpose-driven innovation’, and as part of this focus Gaia has worked on a number corporate responsibility and sustainability programs with a range of clients, including for PriceWaterhouse Coopers, YPO (Young Presidents Organisation), and IFC World Bank. She has helped to design a program for Nestle headquarters in Switzerland on how to produce sustainable innovations for emerging countries, and she worked with Duke Executive Education to help design and run a program for Google headquarters in the US on how to improve social responsibility in the local area. Additionally, she has worked on a long term program with a government funded organisation assisting with poverty alleviation through improving agricultural techniques in Asia.
Gaia contributes to a number of major magazines and newspapers, and she has also been featured in a number of international media including BBC and ABC TV along with commercial TV, Reuters, Huffington Post, Fast Company and the Wall St Journal.