Peter Fisk

ESP25 Module 4: New Business Models

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Reinventing how the business create and captures value

In a fast-changing world, companies can’t rely on product innovation alone. The most disruptive and successful organizations today innovate at the level of business models—rethinking how they create, deliver, and capture value. From digital platforms and subscriptions to circular models and decentralized ecosystems, business model innovation has become a core strategic imperative. Here’s a guide to understanding what a business model is, why it needs continuous reinvention, the most popular and emerging models, and how companies can build models fit for the future.

What Is a Business Model?

A business model defines the logic of how a company works:

• How it creates value (products, services, experiences),

• How it delivers value (channels, partners, operations), and

• How it captures value (revenue streams, pricing, monetization).

Essentially, it answers:

Who is the customer? What do they value? How do we deliver it profitably and sustainably?

Why innovate your business model

The shelf life of a business model is shrinking. New technologies, shifting customer expectations, sustainability pressures, and regulatory changes mean that models that once worked may become obsolete—or even risky.

Companies must innovate their business models for several reasons:

• Digital disruption: Platforms, automation, and data have transformed how value is delivered.

• Changing customer behavior: Consumers now expect personalization, convenience, and ethical practices.

• New value propositions: Entire industries are being redefined by software, AI, and sustainability.

• Competitive threats: Startups often outmaneuver incumbents with smarter, more scalable models.

Business model innovation often leads to higher margins, recurring revenue, and stronger competitive advantagethan product innovation alone. It can open new markets, attract new customers, and fundamentally reshape industries.

Common types of business models

Over time, several business models have proven successful across industries. Here are key types and company examples:

1. Platform Model

Platforms connect producers and consumers, enabling value creation and exchange.

• Examples:

  • Airbnb (connects hosts and travelers),

  • Uber (drivers and riders),

  • Apple App Store (developers and users).

• Value comes from network effects—the more users, the more valuable the platform.

2. Subscription Model

Recurring revenue through regular payments for ongoing access to a product or service.

• Examples:

  • Netflix (entertainment),

  • Spotify (music),

  • Adobe Creative Cloud (software).

• Delivers predictable revenue and encourages long-term customer relationships.

3. Freemium Model

Free basic services with the option to upgrade to a paid version.

• Examples:

  • Dropbox, Zoom, Canva.

• Relies on converting a portion of users to paid tiers, often leveraging network virality and user-driven growth.

4. Direct-to-Consumer (DTC)

Brands sell directly to customers, often online, cutting out intermediaries.

• Examples:

  • Warby Parker, Glossier, Allbirds.

• Allows for control over customer data, experience, and margins.

5. Marketplace Model

A neutral space where buyers and sellers transact, often taking a commission.

• Examples:

  • eBay, Amazon Marketplace, Etsy.

• Requires trust, scale, and effective governance mechanisms.

6. Pay-as-You-Go / Usage-Based Model

Customers pay only for what they use—popular in cloud computing and energy.

• Examples:

  • AWS, Twilio, Uber.

• Attractive for flexibility and scalability.

7. Razor and Blade Model

Sell the base product cheaply (razor) and generate profit from ongoing consumables (blades).

• Examples:

  • Gillette, Nespresso, HP printers.

• Lock-in comes from ecosystem dependence.

8. Franchise Model

A business licenses its brand and systems to independent operators.

• Examples:

  • McDonald’s, Subway, 7-Eleven.

• Enables fast global expansion with local ownership.

New types of business models

The next wave of business model innovation is being shaped by technology, sustainability, decentralization, and social impact. Here are some of the most promising new directions:

1. Product-as-a-Service (PaaS)

Companies offer access to products without ownership—turning products into services.

• Examples:

  • Rolls-Royce (jet engines as a service),

  • Philips (lighting as a service),

  • Caterpillar (equipment leasing).

• Encourages circularity and ongoing customer relationships.

2. Circular Economy Models

Designing out waste and pollution by keeping products and materials in use.

• Examples:

  • IKEA: buyback and resell programs,

  • Patagonia: Worn Wear platform,

  • Loop: reusable packaging system.

• Aligns business growth with environmental sustainability.

3. Decentralized / Web3 Models

Blockchain enables new models of ownership, governance, and reward distribution.

• Examples:

  • KlimaDAO: decentralized climate finance,

  • Helium: decentralized wireless network,

  • OpenSea: NFT marketplace.

• Value is co-created by communities, not centralized entities.

4. Data Monetization

Companies leverage proprietary data as a revenue stream or business enabler.

• Examples:

  • John Deere: monetizes farm equipment data,

  • Tesla: builds driver data into autonomous vehicle development.

• Raises critical questions around privacy, ethics, and transparency.

5. Embedded Finance

Non-financial companies integrate banking or payment services directly into their offerings.

• Examples:

  • Shopify offering merchant banking,

  • Uber with driver wallets,

  • Apple Card integration.

• Creates new value streams and enhances customer convenience.

6. B2B Platforms and Ecosystems

Business ecosystems where companies collaborate and share infrastructure or data.

• Examples:

  • Alibaba Cloud, Salesforce AppExchange,

  • Siemens MindSphere (industrial IoT).

• Ecosystem logic supports scalability, modularity, and partner innovation.

7. Outcome-Based Models

Customers pay for results rather than input or service.

• Examples:

  • Zipline (drones for medicine delivery—pay by delivery),

  • Energy-as-a-Service firms,

  • Healthcare providers moving toward value-based care.

• Aligns incentives and shifts risk from customers to providers.

Innovating the business model

Business model innovation requires both creativity and discipline. Here’s how organizations can start:

• Understand your current model: Map out how your business currently creates, delivers, and captures value.

• Identify shifts in customer needs and technology: Look at what’s changing in your environment.

• Explore analogies across sectors: Great business model innovations often come from other industries.

• Prototype and test: Use lean startup methods to test assumptions before committing.

• Involve diverse teams: Innovation often comes from cross-functional collaboration and outside-in perspectives.

• Design for flexibility: Build models that can evolve as customer needs change.

Business model innovation isn’t a one-time event—it’s a continuous process of adaptation and exploration.

Business model advantage

In a world where products are easily copied, technology advances rapidly, and customers demand more than ever, business model innovation is the most powerful lever for sustained advantage. From platforms and subscriptions to circular and decentralized models, the companies that win in the future will be those that rethink not just what they offer—but how they offer it, who they partner with, and how they share value. Business models are the blueprint of modern enterprise—and reinventing them may be the most strategic decision a company can make.

Module 2: Business Innovation

• Download a summary of Business Innovation by Peter Fisk

Reimagining growth in a fast-changing world

Innovation is no longer confined to R&D labs or incremental product updates. In today’s fast-moving and uncertain world, innovation is the engine of survival and sustainable growth. Businesses everywhere—from startups to global corporations—are embracing innovation in broader, bolder ways: transforming how they operate, how they create value, and how they build resilient futures.

Rather than relying solely on technological breakthroughs, today’s most innovative companies adopt a systems view—innovating not just in what they offer, but in how they work, who they work with, and why they exist. In this context, innovation becomes a capability, not a department. It’s embedded in culture, strategy, operations, and leadership.

10 types of innovation

After evaluating thousands of practical business innovations over recent years, researcher Jay Doblin found that  that most breakthroughs don’t necessarily stem from engineering inventions or rare discoveries. Instead, he categorised innovations within 10 distinct dimensions.

He then sought to understand which innovation create most value. First he looked at where most companies focus their innovation effort – not surprising, this focused on the offering (product, systems and  service). However far greater value was created through innovation in the business configuration (profit model and network), and to some extent, experience.

Here are examples of each type of innovation:

• Profit model: How you make money … the Financial Times pivoted from its traditional ad-driven media model to digital user subscriptions. Others: Gillette, Hilti.
• Network: Connections with others to create value … ARM, the world’s leading semiconductor business doesn’t make any thing, but licenses its designs to a network of partners to make with much great agility. Others: Target, Michael Graves
• Structure: Alignment of your talent and assets … Google’s 20% rule allows employees to work on side projects, that led to the creation of Gmail and Google News. Others: WL Gore, Zappos
• Process: Signature of superior methods for doing your work … McDonald’s franchises were encouraged to develop and launch their own food items, leading to wins like the Egg McMuffin. Others: Toyota, Zara

In the case of McDonald’s, the franchisee insight that led to the introduction of the Egg McMuffin spearheaded the company’s entire breakfast offering, which now accounts for 25% of revenues. Breakfast is also now the company’s most profitable segment.

• Product: Distinguishing features and functionality … Spotify created a seamless music streaming product that hugely outperformed competitors in terms of speed, responsiveness and user experience. Others: Dyson, Corning.
• Product system: Complementary products and services … Apple built an extensive ecosystem of products that work together, creating additional value for users. Others: Oscar Meyer, Mozilla.

Apple has a reputation for innovation, but the product ecosystem highlighted above is an underappreciated piece of the company’s strategy. By putting thought into the ecosystem of products—and ensuring they work together flawlessly—additional utility is created, while also making it harder for customers to switch away from Apple products.

• Service: Support and enhancements that surround your offerings … Amazon Prime comes with free and fast delivery, which can have products to your home within 2 hours in some urban areas. Others: Singapore Airlines, Timpsons.
• Channel: How your offerings are delivered to customers and users … Nespresso locks in customers with its Nespresso Club as well as through ongoing sales of  its own single use coffee pods. Others: Birchbox, Nike.
• Brand: Representation of your offerings and business … Patagonia’s brand activism and links to environmental causes gives it a unique position in the outdoor apparel market. Others: Intel, Virgin.
• Customer engagement: Distinctive interactions you foster … Mercedes launched an augmented reality owner’s manual that replaces its traditional guides, personalised with driver and car data. Others: Blizzard, Disney.

In the early days of the internet, online shipping was precarious at best—but Amazon’s introduction of Amazon Prime and free and fast shipping for all members has transformed its online retail. Executing on such a promise was no small task, but today there are 225 million users of Prime worldwide, receiving their deliveries within two hours in urban areas.

Innovation is not easy

Innovation is critical for business survival, but it’s also harder than ever to execute effectively. One major challenge is short-termism: companies often prioritize quarterly results over long-term bets, making them risk-averse and resistant to self-disruption. This is reinforced by legacy thinking and siloed structures, where innovation is isolated from core operations, slowing down speed and impact.

Cultural resistance to change is another major barrier. Many organizations lack a safe space for experimentation, where failure is seen as a learning tool. At the same time, talent shortages—especially in AI, digital, design, and sustainability—leave firms without the capabilities needed to build future-ready solutions.

Technologically, companies are overwhelmed by emerging tools like AI, robotics, and IoT, but often lack the strategic focus or systems integration to use them effectively. Innovation without direction or user focus leads to wasted investment.

Externally, businesses face growing regulatory pressure and ethical scrutiny, particularly in areas like data privacy and artificial intelligence. They must also innovate in a world of climate urgency and limited resources, rethinking products, supply chains, and business models to be sustainable by design.

Meanwhile, disruption from agile startups and tech platforms continues to erode traditional advantages. Many incumbents struggle to respond quickly enough, especially without a clear innovation strategy that aligns with purpose, growth, and impact.

In short, innovating today isn’t just about having ideas—it’s about transforming culture, strategy, and systems to continuously adapt and reinvent.

Building an innovation culture

Building a culture of innovation is not about launching a few creative projects—it’s about embedding curiosity, experimentation, and agility into the DNA of your organization. It starts at the top: leaders must model openness to change, encourage bold thinking, and celebrate learning from failure. Innovation-friendly cultures thrive when leaders shift from control to empowerment, giving teams the autonomy to explore, test, and iterate.

A key enabler is psychological safety—an environment where employees feel safe to voice new ideas, challenge the status quo, and take intelligent risks without fear of blame. Companies like Google and Pixar have shown how this fosters breakthrough thinking.

Breaking down silos and promoting cross-functional collaboration is also vital. Innovation flourishes when diverse perspectives converge—combining design, data, customer insight, and technology. Encourage teams to work in agile, project-based formats and create spaces—both physical and digital—designed for experimentation.

Reward systems must evolve too. Recognize not just successful outcomes, but the behaviors that drive innovation: curiosity, initiative, resilience, and collaboration. Allocate time and resources for exploration, such as “innovation sprints” or protected time for side projects.

Finally, connect innovation efforts to a clear purpose and customer need. Employees are more motivated to solve problems that matter. Equip them with the tools, training, and permission to think creatively and act boldly.

In short, a culture of innovation is built by leaders, lived by teams, and sustained by systems that turn big ideas into everyday practice.

The Innovator’s Toolkit

To unlock innovation across these dimensions, leading companies use a wide range of creative and strategic tools. We help you choose the right approach  for your challenge, and facilitate the process to help you turn your best ideas into practical and profitable innovations. The best innovation tools and techniques include:

1. Design Thinking

Design thinking is a human-centered, iterative approach to problem-solving that integrates empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing. It focuses on deeply understanding user needs before developing solutions.

• Examples: IBM (USA) embraced design thinking across its global operations to improve product development and customer experience. It trained over 100,000 employees and embedded multidisciplinary design teams into every project. Bank of America used design thinking with IDEO to create “Keep the Change,” a savings program that became a national success.
• Implementation: Design thinking starts with user research (empathy), followed by brainstorming (ideation), building models (prototyping), and user feedback (testing). IBM institutionalised it via “IBM Design Studios,” influencing everything from AI interfaces to enterprise software.
• Impact: Design thinking accelerates innovation and aligns products with real customer needs. IBM reduced time-to-market by 33% and saw 300% ROI on design-centric initiatives. It fosters cross-functional collaboration, creativity, and customer loyalty.

2. Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy focuses on creating uncontested market space by shifting away from head-to-head competition. Instead of beating rivals, companies innovate by redefining value—eliminating industry norms and creating entirely new demand.

• Example: Cirque du Soleil (Canada) created a blue ocean by combining circus arts with theatre—eliminating animals and cutting traditional costs while adding new value through storytelling and music. Nintendo (Japan) used Blue Ocean Strategy to launch the Wii, targeting casual gamers instead of competing head-on with Sony and Microsoft.
• Implementation: Key tools include the Strategy Canvas and Four Actions Framework (Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, Create). Companies identify factors to rethink in their industry and redesign value propositions accordingly.
• Impact: Cirque du Soleil grew to a billion-dollar enterprise in a declining circus industry. Nintendo’s Wii became the best-selling console of its generation. Blue Ocean Strategy allows firms to escape price wars and reshape entire categories through creative repositioning.

3. Lean Startup

The Lean Startup methodology focuses on rapid experimentation, customer feedback, and iterative development to build viable products with minimal waste.

• Examples: Dropbox (USA) launched with a simple video prototype that tested demand before building the product. Zalando (Germany) uses lean startup principles in its internal “Zalando Innovation Lab” to test and iterate on AI-driven fashion tools.
• Implementation: Core tools include MVPs (minimum viable products), A/B testing, and build-measure-learn loops. Large companies like GE (USA) applied Lean Startup to industrial product lines, creating its “FastWorks” program to speed innovation cycles.
• Impact: This approach reduces failure risk, speeds up feedback loops, and prioritizes real customer demand. GE shortened product cycles by 50%, while Dropbox saved millions by validating need before development. It has become foundational for digital product innovation worldwide.

4. Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas  is a strategic tool that helps teams visualise, design, and innovate business models on a single page. It breaks down nine core building blocks: customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, and cost structure.

• Example: Nespresso (Switzerland) used the BMC to rethink its coffee business—shifting from B2B commodity sales to a direct-to-consumer model via proprietary capsules, machines, and boutique stores. Airbnb (USA) also mapped and refined its business model using the BMC to align key partnerships (hosts), value propositions (affordable travel), and channels (platform).
• Implementation: Teams typically use large printouts or digital whiteboards to brainstorm, analyze gaps, test assumptions, and prototype new business models. It is often used in startups, accelerators, and corporate strategy sessions.
• Impact: The BMC simplifies complex business models and helps cross-functional teams align quickly. Nespresso grew into a multibillion-dollar business with a premium, recurring revenue model. Airbnb scaled globally by continuously refining its canvas to optimize trust, efficiency, and scale.

5. Agile Sprints

Agile sprints are short, iterative cycles—usually 1–4 weeks—used to develop, test, and improve products quickly based on customer feedback. Originating in software development, agile sprints are now widely used across industries for product, service, and strategy innovation.

• Example: Spotify (Sweden) uses agile sprints within cross-functional “squads” to continuously improve its music streaming experience. ING Bank (Netherlands) reorganized its entire workforce around agile principles, with sprints driving product development and customer experience upgrades.
• Implementation: Agile teams set sprint goals, build MVPs, test with users, review outcomes, and iterate. Daily stand-ups, sprint retrospectives, and backlog grooming are standard rituals.
• Impact: Agile sprints accelerate time-to-market, improve alignment with customer needs, and foster a culture of collaboration and adaptability. ING Bank saw faster product rollouts and improved employee satisfaction. Spotify scales agile across hundreds of teams to maintain speed and innovation at scale.

6. Frugal Innovation

Frugal innovation, sometimes called “constraint-based innovation,” focuses on creating more affordable products and services by minimizing resource use and complexity. It often targets underserved or price-sensitive markets, especially in emerging economies. Instead of expensive high-end features, frugal innovation emphasizes core functionality, simplicity, and local relevance.

• Example: Tata Motors revolutionized the Indian auto market with the Tata Nano, an ultra-low-cost car designed for affordability and efficiency. GE Healthcare developed a portable, low-cost ECG machine for rural healthcare in India, reducing costs drastically while maintaining clinical utility. In Kenya, M-Pesa created a mobile money platform enabling millions without traditional banking access to perform financial transactions easily.
• Implementation: Frugal innovation requires deep understanding of user needs, local context, and constraints. Companies typically co-create with local communities and adopt modular, adaptable designs. They also streamline manufacturing and distribution to keep costs low. Reverse innovation often occurs, where solutions developed in emerging markets are adapted for developed markets.
• Impact: Frugal innovation expands access to essential products and services, drives inclusive economic growth, and fosters sustainable development. Companies that succeed in this approach often unlock large new customer segments and build strong brand loyalty. It challenges traditional R&D models by emphasizing affordability and practicality.

7. LEGO Serious Play

LEGO Serious Play is a facilitated method where participants use LEGO bricks to build metaphorical models representing ideas, challenges, or systems. It fosters creative thinking, team alignment, and problem-solving through hands-on exploration.

• Example: NASA (USA) has used LSP to facilitate team communication and strategic planning. Google (USA) and Roche (Switzerland) have applied it in leadership development and innovation workshops.
• Implementation: In structured sessions, participants build LEGO models that represent abstract ideas (e.g., “our ideal future customer journey”) and then explain them to others. Facilitators guide reflection, dialogue, and iteration.
• Impact: LSP enhances psychological safety, deepens understanding, and surfaces hidden assumptions. Roche improved cross-functional collaboration in drug development. It’s particularly powerful for complex or ambiguous problems, fostering insights that traditional discussions miss.

8. Innovation Labs

Innovation labs are dedicated units within organizations that explore new technologies, business models, or customer experiences. They provide protected space, funding, and talent to experiment outside traditional business constraints. Of course, innovation labs can also be superficial and full of gimmicks. Bean bags and open spaces scream “let’s be creative”, therefore the lab is more a dedicated environment to collaborate, and use many of the other structured approaches.

• Example: BMW’s Startup Garage (Germany) connects the company with early-stage startups to co-develop future mobility solutions. L’Oréal (France) runs multiple global labs (e.g., the Technology Incubator) to experiment with AI-driven beauty products and personalized cosmetics.
• Implementation: Labs are structured as internal startups or “sandboxes,” often with cross-functional teams. They may focus on horizon scanning, prototyping, or launching spin-offs. Success is measured by learning velocity, pilot outcomes, or ROI from ventures.
• Impact: Innovation labs allow organizations to derisk experimentation, attract talent, and explore bold ideas. L’Oréal’s lab-developed UV Sense, the world’s smallest wearable UV sensor. BMW scouts 500+ startups annually through its lab, accelerating product and process innovation.

9. Corporate Venture Building

This approach involves companies launching new startups internally or partnering with entrepreneurs to build businesses from scratch. Unlike traditional VC investments, venture building embeds innovation in-house.

• Examples: Enel (Italy) launched Enel Innovation Hubs to build and invest in energy and cleantech startups aligned with its transition goals. Bosch (Germany) created Bosch Venture Capital to back and incubate mobility and smart home startups. Standard Chartered (UK/Singapore) built “SC Ventures” to create fintech startups internally.
• Implementation: Firms establish venture studios or innovation labs, often with dedicated funding and autonomy. Ideas are rapidly prototyped and spun off into stand-alone ventures if validated.
• Impact: Venture building enables large companies to diversify revenue, enter new markets, and attract entrepreneurial talent. Enel has launched over 100 innovation partnerships. SC Ventures created over a dozen digital ventures, one of which—Mox Bank—now serves tens of thousands of customers in Hong Kong.

10. Open Innovation

Open innovation encourages organizations to look beyond their boundaries to source ideas, technologies, or solutions from external partners—startups, universities, customers, or even competitors.

• Example: Procter & Gamble (USA) pioneered open innovation with its “Connect + Develop” program, sourcing over 50% of innovations from external partners. Unilever (UK/Netherlands) collaborates with startups through its Foundry platform. Haier (China) uses an open ecosystem model, engaging users and partners in real-time product development.
• Implementation: Open innovation methods include crowdsourcing, hackathons, innovation challenges, technology scouting, and joint ventures. Digital platforms now enable faster matchmaking between corporates and innovators.
• Impact: Open innovation dramatically increases speed and breadth of innovation. P&G accelerated time to market while cutting R&D costs. Haier’s “ecosystem micro-enterprises” have become a global benchmark for agile, user-led innovation.

11. Platform Innovation

Platform innovation is a form of open innovation, creating open infrastructures that enable external users—customers, developers, or partners—to co-create value. It transforms businesses from product providers to ecosystem orchestrators.

• Examples: Apple (USA) transformed from a computer maker to a global platform with the App Store. Alibaba (China)evolved from a trading website into a platform ecosystem spanning e-commerce, finance (Alipay), logistics, and cloud services. Shopify (Canada) empowers millions of small merchants through its retail platform and plug-in app ecosystem.
• Implementation: Companies build APIs, developer kits, and network tools to enable third-party innovation. The focus shifts from controlling products to facilitating interactions—between buyers, sellers, service providers, and creators.
• Impact: Platforms benefit from network effects, compounding value as more participants join. Apple’s App Store has generated over $300B for developers. Shopify’s revenue grew over 50x in a decade by enabling others to build on its infrastructure. Platform innovation is a core engine for scalability and resilience.

12. Regenerative Innovation

Regenerative innovation moves beyond sustainability to actively restore and regenerate social, ecological, and economic systems. It draws from nature’s principles—circularity, interdependence, and resilience—to design businesses that create net-positive impact.

• Example: Interface (USA), a global carpet tile manufacturer, pioneered this model by transforming its supply chain to eliminate negative environmental impact. It now uses bio-based materials and carbon-negative tiles. Patagonia (USA) integrates regenerative practices in sourcing (e.g. regenerative organic cotton), repair services, and circular product models.
• Implementation: This approach starts with systems thinking and lifecycle analysis. Companies identify how to redesign processes, materials, and business models to restore ecosystems or communities—often through circular economy principles, regenerative agriculture, and stakeholder capitalism.
• Impact: Interface cut its carbon footprint by 96% and now produces carbon-negative flooring. Patagonia’s regenerative sourcing builds healthier soils while increasing biodiversity. Regenerative innovation not only future-proofs businesses but also unlocks new growth through purpose-driven products.

13. Behavioural Innovation

Behavioral innovation leverages insights from psychology, behavioral economics, and neuroscience to design products, services, and systems that better align with how people actually think and act—not how we assume they do.

• Example: Google (USA) uses behavioural nudges in its workplace and products—such as auto-suggesting shorter email responses or encouraging healthy food choices in cafeterias. Nudgestock (UK) and BIT (Behavioural Insights Team)apply behavioural science to design policy and corporate change strategies. Vitality (South Africa/UK) uses behavioral economics in its insurance model, offering rewards for healthy behavior.
• Implementation: Behavioral innovation involves deep user research, A/B testing, and cognitive bias mapping. Techniques include defaults, framing, nudges, and gamification. Many companies now hire behavioral scientists or partner with agencies to embed this thinking.
• Impact: Behavioral innovations increase user adoption, reduce friction, and influence positive habits. Vitality saw reduced healthcare costs and higher customer engagement. Behavioral insights helped Google improve productivity, reduce waste, and increase user trust across its platforms.

14. Bio-Inspired Innovation (Biomimicry)

Bio-inspired innovation draws ideas from nature’s 3.8 billion years of R&D to solve human challenges. It applies biological principles—like self-healing, swarm intelligence, or photosynthesis—to product design, architecture, and systems thinking.

• Examples: Sharklet Technologies (USA) mimicked shark skin patterns to create antibacterial surfaces for hospitals. Airbus (Europe) designed fuel-efficient aircraft wings based on bird flight. Lilium (Germany) uses butterfly-inspired wing dynamics in its electric air taxis.
• Implementation: Companies collaborate with biologists and designers to translate biological functions into engineering solutions. Innovation labs use nature as a model, measure, and mentor—observing ecosystems to inspire new approaches to efficiency, resilience, or sustainability.
• Impact: Bio-inspired innovation enables breakthroughs in energy efficiency, performance, and environmental compatibility. Sharklet reduced bacterial growth without chemicals. Airbus cut fuel use by 15%. It often leads to novel, patentable IP that gives a distinct market advantage.

15. Reverse Innovation

Reverse innovation refers to innovations developed first in emerging or resource-constrained markets and later adapted or scaled to developed markets. This approach challenges the traditional flow of innovation, where new products or services typically originate in developed countries. Instead, companies innovate by addressing specific constraints or needs in emerging markets, creating frugal, affordable, and locally relevant solutions that later prove valuable globally.

• Examples: GE Healthcare’s portable low-cost ECG machine was designed initially for rural India but later found applications in developed countries for mobile health diagnostics. Procter & Gamble developed a water-purification product in India that was later adapted for use in the US. Tata Motors’ Nano car, designed as an ultra-affordable vehicle for India, influenced compact car design thinking globally.
• When and How: Companies employ reverse innovation when targeting emerging markets where customer needs differ significantly from developed markets. They invest in local R&D, collaborate with local partners, and embrace frugal innovation principles. After success, they adapt these solutions to developed markets, often at a premium or to new customer segments.
• Impact: Reverse innovation enables companies to expand their global reach, reduce costs, and drive inclusive growth. It disrupts conventional innovation models and encourages greater sensitivity to diverse market needs. It can also create competitive advantages by identifying growth opportunities overlooked by others.

16. Cross-Pollination

Cross-pollination is the deliberate transfer of ideas, knowledge, or technologies between different industries, disciplines, or cultures to spark innovation. It leverages diverse perspectives to combine concepts in novel ways, often leading to breakthrough products or services.

• Examples: IDEO, the global design firm, uses cross-pollination by bringing together multidisciplinary teams to tackle client challenges, leading to innovative solutions in healthcare, consumer products, and more. Tesla applies automotive and software industry insights, blending electric vehicle technology with advanced software to revolutionize mobility. Johnson & Johnson incorporates biotech advances from academia into its consumer healthcare products.
• When and How: Organizations adopt cross-pollination through cross-functional teams, partnerships with external experts, or exposure to diverse industries via conferences and workshops. Open innovation platforms and innovation hubs also facilitate this exchange.
• Impact: Cross-pollination accelerates creativity, reduces innovation risk, and opens new market opportunities. It fosters adaptability and resilience by integrating knowledge across domains.

17. Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing harnesses the collective intelligence and creativity of large groups, often external to the organization, to solve problems, generate ideas, or fund projects. It democratizes innovation by tapping into diverse expertise and perspectives.

• Examples: LEGO Ideas invites fans worldwide to submit and vote on new product concepts, some of which become official sets. NASA runs open innovation challenges to crowdsource solutions for complex space problems. Threadless uses crowdsourcing to design T-shirts, engaging customers in the creative process.
• When and How: Companies use crowdsourcing during ideation, problem-solving, or even funding stages. Online platforms enable global participation. Proper challenge framing and incentives motivate contributors.
• Impact: Crowdsourcing reduces R&D costs, accelerates idea generation, and enhances customer engagement. It builds community loyalty and accesses niche expertise that internal teams may lack.

18. Hackathons

Hackathons are intensive, time-bound collaborative events where teams rapidly prototype solutions to defined challenges. Like agile sprints, but even faster and collaborative, they were originally popular in software development, they now span various industries to foster creativity, teamwork, and fast innovation cycles.

• Examples: Facebook started as a product of a student hackathon. IBM hosts hackathons focused on AI and blockchain, generating novel enterprise solutions. Barclays runs hackathons to explore fintech innovations and improve customer experiences.
• When and How: Organizations host hackathons to stimulate creativity, recruit talent, or solve pressing business problems. They set clear challenges, provide resources, and encourage multidisciplinary teams. Outcomes often include prototypes, proofs of concept, or fresh ideas for development.
• Impact: Hackathons promote a culture of innovation, rapid learning, and cross-team collaboration. They uncover new talent, fast-track solution development, and foster employee engagement and empowerment.

19. Digital Twins

Digital twins are dynamic virtual replicas of physical products, processes, or systems. They use real-time data, simulations, and AI to mirror, analyze, and optimize their real-world counterparts.

• Examples: Siemens (Germany) uses digital twins in factory automation to model machines and workflows before building them. General Electric (USA) applies digital twins to jet engines, wind turbines, and power plants to predict maintenance needs and improve efficiency. Unilever (UK/Netherlands) uses digital twins in manufacturing to cut waste and energy use.
• Implementation: Digital twins require IoT sensors, cloud computing, and machine learning models. They’re often applied in manufacturing, logistics, energy, and healthcare to run simulations, detect faults, and inform decision-making.
• Impact: Siemens achieved a 20–30% increase in manufacturing efficiency. GE reduced unplanned downtime in its turbines by 25%. Digital twins save costs, boost productivity, and accelerate innovation by allowing companies to experiment safely in virtual environments.

20. Tapestry (Narrative-Based Foresight)

Tapestry is an emerging innovation method that uses storytelling and narrative synthesis to explore future possibilities and drive strategic innovation. It weaves together weak signals, emerging trends, and qualitative insights into rich, plausible futures to help organizations imagine new directions.

• Example: Nesta (UK) uses narrative foresight to imagine future scenarios for public policy and social innovation. IKEA’s SPACE10 lab (Denmark) applies storytelling methods to explore “everyday life in 2030,” using speculative design and fiction to provoke new concepts for urban living.
• Implementation: Tapestry involves gathering diverse data (e.g., interviews, ethnographies, trend scans), and weaving it into cohesive future narratives. These are then used in workshops or strategy sessions to guide innovation, spot opportunity spaces, and stress-test current plans.
• Impact: Tapestry makes the future feel real—helping teams go beyond data to uncover human needs, values, and desires. It enables more inclusive and empathetic innovation. IKEA has launched products inspired by speculative scenarios, like space-saving furniture for small urban homes.

21. Decentralized Innovation

Decentralized innovation disperses the innovation process across independent teams, locations, or community-led structures, rather than relying on a centralized R&D unit. This approach leverages diverse perspectives, local insights, and autonomous decision-making to accelerate creativity and market adaptation. A new frontier of decentralized innovation involves blockchain-enabled Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), where governance and innovation are community-driven and transparent.

• Examples: Haier, the Chinese appliance giant, pioneered a “micro-enterprise ecosystem” where small autonomous teams innovate independently to rapidly meet customer needs, enhancing agility and responsiveness. KlimaDAO uses blockchain technology to decentralize the management of carbon credits, allowing community stakeholders worldwide to participate in climate action innovation transparently and democratically. MakerDAO is a decentralized finance platform innovating with autonomous governance to create stablecoins and financial products without centralized intermediaries. This open, community-led model fosters rapid iteration and broad participation.
• Implementation: Decentralized innovation often requires organizational shifts to empower local teams or communities with decision rights. Digital collaboration tools and open innovation platforms enable distributed teams and stakeholders to co-create efficiently. In blockchain-enabled DAOs, smart contracts automate governance, ensuring transparent, rule-based decision-making by token holders or participants. Cross-unit alignment remains critical to maintain strategic coherence.
• Impact: Decentralized innovation accelerates development cycles, enhances local market fit, and taps diverse expertise. DAOs like KlimaDAO and MakerDAO demonstrate how blockchain can democratize innovation, increasing trust and inclusivity while reducing bottlenecks. Haier’s micro-enterprises foster a culture of intrapreneurship that drives rapid product launches and customer responsiveness. This approach helps organizations navigate complex, rapidly evolving markets by distributing innovation capacity broadly.

22. Continuous Reinvention

Continuous reinvention is a dynamic innovation approach where organizations consistently rethink and transform their business models, strategies, products, and operations to stay relevant and competitive in fast-changing markets. Unlike one-off innovation efforts, it embraces ongoing adaptation as a core capability, responding proactively to emerging technologies, customer needs, and market shifts.

• Example: IBM is a classic example of continuous reinvention. Founded as a hardware manufacturer, IBM shifted focus multiple times—from mainframes to software, then services, and now to AI and cloud computing. Netflix transformed from DVD rental to streaming, and now into content production and global distribution. Microsoft reinvented itself from software licensing to cloud services and subscription models.
• Implementation: Continuous reinvention requires a culture open to change, strong leadership vision, and flexible organizational structures. Companies invest heavily in strategic foresight, scenario planning, and capability building. They encourage experimentation, learn rapidly from failures, and pivot as necessary. Agile methodologies, innovation labs, and cross-functional teams support ongoing transformation.
• Impact: Organizations practicing continuous reinvention sustain long-term growth and market leadership despite disruption. IBM’s transformations have kept it a tech powerhouse for over a century. Netflix’s adaptability made it a dominant global entertainment platform. Microsoft’s pivot to cloud earned it renewed growth and valuation. Continuous reinvention helps companies avoid obsolescence, better anticipate trends, and unlock new business opportunities.

23. AI-Powered Co-Creation

AI-powered co-creation refers to the use of artificial intelligence not just to automate tasks, but to collaborate creativelywith humans in real time. It enables teams to generate, refine, and test ideas faster—blending human intuition with machine intelligence to spark breakthrough innovations.

• Example: BMW (Germany) uses AI to co-design car interiors by analyzing millions of combinations of materials, lighting, and customer preferences. Adobe (USA) offers AI tools like Firefly and Sensei that let designers auto-generate images, layouts, and marketing content. Spotify (Sweden) employs AI to co-create personalized playlists and mood-based music experiences, tailored to individual users in real time.
• Implementation: This approach integrates AI into the creative process through generative tools (like ChatGPT, DALL·E, or Runway), machine learning design platforms, and collaborative interfaces. It’s used across product development, branding, R&D, and even storytelling. Companies often embed AI into design studios or product teams, or co-develop solutions with startups and platforms.
• Impact: AI-powered co-creation drastically reduces time to market. BMW shortens its design cycle from months to weeks. Adobe customers report productivity boosts of 30–50% using AI-assisted creative tools. It also democratizes innovation—giving non-experts access to advanced tools for ideation and execution. Spotify’s AI enhances engagement by making every experience feel unique.

AI also unlocks new forms of creativity—enabling the discovery of options humans might overlook and encouraging iterative, data-driven experimentation. As AI grows more multimodal (text, image, audio, video), its role in collaborative innovation will continue to expand—changing not only how we innovate, but who gets to innovate.

The world’s most innovative companies

Superfast-gaming chips and fat-busting superdrugs, asteroid-chasing rockets and carbon-capturing technologies, 4 day working weeks and chess reinvented as a reality TV game, health-enhancing fashions and the rebirth of the hairy mammoth. Nvidia is transforming tech, while Novo Nordisk innovates healthcare, KinetXchanges the space race, while Climeworks eliminates carbon.

The most innovative companies don’t just chase ideas—they build systems of innovation. They embed it into culture, make it everyone’s responsibility, and balance bold experimentation with disciplined execution. Key traits of future innovation leaders include:

• Bold ambition: Tackling big challenges, like climate or health, not as constraints, but as sources of opportunity.
• Strategic foresight: Having a future orientation, forwards radar, sensing beyond existing domains
• Customer obsession: Continuously listening, observing, and co-creating with end users.
• Ecosystem fluency: Knowing how to partner, collaborate, and build platforms.
• Cultural agility: Empowering teams, embracing uncertainty, and rewarding curiosity.
• Enlightened leadership: Commitment, curiosity and courage of leaders to create the future, while delivering today.

Which are the innovative companies around the world that inspire you, and what can you learn from them?

Apple

Apple is widely regarded as one of the world’s most innovative companies, largely due to its relentless focus on design, user experience, and ecosystem integration. Its approach to innovation is rooted in a design-driven philosophy, where hardware, software, and services are seamlessly integrated to deliver intuitive, elegant, and highly functional products.

• Innovation approach: Apple’s innovation process emphasizes deep user empathy, iterative prototyping, and secrecy. The company invests heavily in R&D but tightly controls product development cycles to maintain a competitive edge. Cross-functional collaboration among design, engineering, and marketing teams ensures cohesiveness in product experiences. Apple also leverages vertical integration, designing its own chips (like the M1 and A-series processors) and operating systems to optimize performance and security.
• Example Projects: iPhone revolutionized the smartphone industry with a capacitive touchscreen, app ecosystem (App Store), and constant iterative improvements. MacBook’s continual refinement of laptop design, including the transition to Apple’s own M1 chips. Apple Watch pioneered wearable health technology with features like heart-rate monitoring, ECG, and fitness tracking. Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple Pay create an integrated ecosystem that enhances user loyalty and generates recurring revenue.
• Impact: Apple’s innovation has reshaped multiple industries—telecommunications, computing, wearables, and entertainment. Its design ethos has set new standards for user interfaces and product aesthetics worldwide. Apple’s ecosystem lock-in strategy has cultivated an immense, loyal customer base and strong brand equity. Financially, Apple’s innovations have led to its position as the world’s most valuable company, with ongoing expansion into augmented reality (AR), health tech, and services signalling future innovation frontiers.

BYD

BYD (Build Your Dreams) is a Chinese multinational known for its pioneering role in electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, and renewable energy solutions. BYD’s innovation is driven by a vertically integrated strategy, enabling tight control over the entire value chain—from battery production to vehicle assembly and energy storage.

• Innovation approach: BYD’s innovation approach focuses on combining cost-effective manufacturing with cutting-edge technology tailored for mass markets. Its vertically integrated model reduces dependency on suppliers, improves quality control, and accelerates R&D iterations. BYD invests heavily in battery chemistry advancements, such as lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology, known for safety and longevity. The company also embraces agile product development to respond quickly to market shifts and regulatory changes. Localization and market adaptation are key. BYD customizes EVs and energy solutions for diverse regions, from urban Chinese markets to European and American customers, adapting features and price points accordingly.
• Example Projects: BYD Han EV: A flagship electric sedan combining high performance, long range, and competitive pricing, rivaling Tesla models. It showcases BYD’s prowess in battery tech and electric drivetrains. Blade Battery: A breakthrough LFP battery design offering improved safety and energy density, gaining industry acclaim. Electric Buses: BYD is a global leader in electric public transport buses, helping cities reduce emissions. Energy Storage Systems: BYD develops grid-scale and residential energy storage solutions integrated with solar technologies.
• Impact: BYD’s innovations have accelerated the global EV transition by providing affordable, reliable electric vehicles and batteries. It has reshaped China’s transportation and energy sectors and expanded globally, influencing markets in Europe, North America, and beyond. BYD’s technological advances have contributed to cleaner cities, energy independence, and reduced carbon emissions, aligning with global sustainability goals. Its integrated innovation strategy makes BYD a major competitor in the global clean-tech revolution, combining economic scale with technology leadership.

Canva

Canva is a global leader in democratizing design by providing an easy-to-use, cloud-based graphic design platform accessible to millions worldwide. Its innovation strategy revolves around simplifying complex design tasks, enabling non-professional users to create professional-quality visuals effortlessly.

• Innovation approach: Canva employs user-centric innovation, relying heavily on continuous feedback loops and rapid iteration to improve usability and features. Its cloud-first architecture supports real-time collaboration, enabling teams and individuals to work together seamlessly across geographies. Canva integrates AI and machine learning to automate design suggestions, image cropping, and color matching, enhancing creativity and efficiency. The company follows a platform innovation model, continuously expanding its content library with millions of templates, images, fonts, and design elements, fueling user creativity. This extensive ecosystem approach encourages user engagement and virality.
• Example Projects: Canva Design Platform: The core product offers drag-and-drop functionality for social media posts, presentations, posters, and more, with easy-to-use tools that simplify graphic design. Canva Pro: A subscription tier providing advanced features like brand kits, content scheduling, and unlimited storage for businesses and professionals. Video and Animation Tools: Expanding beyond static images, Canva has added capabilities for video editing and animated content creation, broadening its appeal. Canva Print: Integrates design with printing services, allowing users to order physical copies of their designs easily.
• Impact:
  Canva’s innovation has transformed the graphic design landscape, making creative content accessible to individuals and businesses regardless of design expertise or budget. It has empowered educators, marketers, entrepreneurs, and non-profits to produce high-quality visuals, accelerating digital communication globally. Canva’s platform approach has fostered a vibrant community and disrupted traditional design software markets dominated by complex, expensive tools. With millions of active users and rapid growth, Canva exemplifies how technology and user-centric design can drive innovation and inclusion at scale.

DBS Bank

DBS Bank, headquartered in Singapore, has transformed from a traditional bank into one of the world’s most digitally advanced financial institutions. Its innovation strategy is centered on digital transformation, agile practices, and customer-centric design—making it a global model for banking innovation.

• Innovation approach: DBS embeds innovation into its organizational DNA through a culture of experimentation and agility. It adopted agile methodologies bank-wide, restructured teams into multidisciplinary squads, and integrated DevOps practices to accelerate software deployment. The bank uses design thinking and data analytics to better understand and anticipate customer needs, enabling more intuitive, seamless digital experiences. DBS fosters innovation through a “platform thinking” mindset—developing open banking APIs and digital ecosystems that allow third-party fintechs to co-create new solutions. It also runs startup partnerships and hackathons to identify emerging technologies and business models. Employees are encouraged to “think like a startup” through the internal innovation program DBS Sparks.
• Example Projects: Digibank: A fully paperless, branchless mobile bank launched in India and Indonesia, offering biometric authentication and AI-powered service. NAV Planner: A digital financial advisory tool using data to help customers with savings, investments, and financial goals. DBS PayLah!: A mobile wallet and lifestyle app integrating payments, rewards, and daily transactions. AI Chatbots and Virtual Assistants: Enhancing customer service and operational efficiency.
• Impact: DBS’s innovation initiatives have earned it accolades such as “World’s Best Digital Bank” and “Best Bank in the World” by Euromoney and Global Finance. Its digital transformation significantly improved operational efficiency, lowered cost-to-income ratios, and accelerated customer acquisition across Asia. DBS has set a benchmark for how legacy financial institutions can reinvent themselves through digital-first strategies, customer obsession, and a culture that embraces continuous innovation.

Ferrari

Ferrari, the iconic Italian luxury sports car manufacturer, is synonymous with performance, precision, and prestige. Its innovation philosophy combines cutting-edge engineering with artisanal craftsmanship, ensuring every vehicle embodies speed, style, and exclusivity. Innovation at Ferrari is deeply tied to its motorsport heritage, particularly its ongoing success in Formula One.

• Innovation approach: Ferrari employs a performance-first approach to innovation, where technology developed on the racetrack transfers directly to road cars. It maintains tight control over R&D and manufacturing, producing most components in-house to ensure quality and integration. Ferrari emphasizes lightweight materials (e.g., carbon fiber, aluminum alloys), advanced aerodynamics, and hybrid powertrains. The company’s Maranello-based Innovation Hub is where engineers, designers, and test drivers collaborate closely, using simulation, digital twin technology, and virtual prototyping to accelerate development while minimizing physical testing. Ferrari also innovates in digital customization, allowing customers to tailor vehicles through online configurators and immersive AR/VR experiences.
• Example Projects: Ferrari SF90 Stradale: A plug-in hybrid supercar with Formula One-derived technology, combining electric motors and a V8 engine to deliver 986 horsepower. 296 GTB: Ferrari’s first V6 hybrid sports car, showcasing downsized, efficient powertrains with uncompromised performance. Formula One Cars (e.g., SF-24): Platforms for experimenting with energy recovery systems, aerodynamics, and telemetry—directly influencing road car innovation. Personalization Studio: An innovation in luxury experience, enabling clients to customize their Ferrari in minute detail.
• Impact: Ferrari’s innovation has cemented its status as a leader in performance and exclusivity, enabling it to command premium pricing and extraordinary brand loyalty. Its hybrid advancements align with emissions regulations while maintaining Ferrari’s performance edge. The brand remains aspirational, proof that technological sophistication and emotional design can coexist—and drive business growth in a fiercely competitive industry.

Haier

Haier, headquartered in Qingdao, China, has become a global leader in appliances and smart home solutions through a radical, decentralized innovation model known as “rendanheyi.” This approach dismantles traditional corporate hierarchies and empowers micro-enterprises (MEs) within the company to innovate independently and respond rapidly to customer needs.

• Innovation approach: Haier’s innovation is rooted in user-driven, zero-distance innovation—deeply embedding the customer into the value creation process. Under Rendanheyi, employees act like entrepreneurs, directly accountable for profit and customer satisfaction. Each ME functions autonomously, with the ability to form cross-functional teams, co-create with users, and partner externally with startups or tech platforms. Haier also leverages open innovation through its HOPE platform, connecting thousands of scientists, researchers, and startups worldwide to co-develop solutions. The company’s strategic acquisitions—like GE Appliances and Italy’s Candy—allow it to blend global innovation capabilities with local market insights.
• Example Projects: COSMOPlat: A user-driven industrial internet platform enabling mass customization of appliances by involving users in the product design and production stages. Smart Home Ecosystems: Integrated solutions connecting appliances via IoT to create intelligent, adaptive living environments tailored to user habits. GE Appliances FirstBuild (U.S.): A microfactory and innovation lab that crowdsources, prototypes, and tests new appliance ideas rapidly. Haier Europe Open Partnership Ecosystem: Co-developing technologies with European universities, startups, and R&D labs.
• Impact: Haier’s innovation model has disrupted the appliance industry by converting internal functions into dynamic market-facing units. It transformed from a local fridge maker into a global innovation powerhouse, consistently topping global appliance brand rankings. By enabling local responsiveness and global knowledge-sharing, Haier has created a sustainable engine for growth, adaptability, and customer-centric innovation.

IKEA

IKEA, the Swedish home furnishings giant, is known for its flat-pack furniture and accessible design. But behind the simplicity is a deeply strategic, multi-faceted approach to innovation that spans product design, supply chain optimization, sustainability, and digital transformation.

• Innovation approach: IKEA embraces design-led and sustainable innovation, focusing on affordability, functionality, and environmental responsibility. Its innovation model combines in-house R&D, cross-functional innovation labs, and open collaborations with universities, startups, and global partners. A key innovation driver is Space10, IKEA’s external research and design lab. It explores future-living concepts like circular systems, urban farming, AI in homes, and autonomous delivery. IKEA also uses democratic design principles—ensuring every product meets five criteria: form, function, quality, sustainability, and low price. IKEA is shifting to a circular business model, designing products for longevity, repair, reuse, and recyclability. It experiments with product-as-a-service models, leasing furniture and offering buy-back programs.
• Example Projects: Buy Back & Resell Program: Allows customers to return used IKEA furniture for resale, supporting circularity. IKEA Kreativ: A spatial design app using AI and AR to let users design their home virtually with IKEA products. Electric Delivery: IKEA aims to make all home deliveries emission-free by 2025, already active in cities like Shanghai and Los Angeles. FÖRNYAD & LOKALT Collections: Co-created with global artisans, showcasing inclusive, local innovation.
• Impact: IKEA’s innovation strategy has helped it evolve from a retail-centric brand into a sustainability and tech-forward leader in home living. Its work in circular design, digital services, and community co-creation enhances customer experience while reducing environmental impact. IKEA’s forward-thinking, scalable innovation practices make it a blueprint for reinvention in legacy retail.

L’Oréal

L’Oréal, the world’s largest cosmetics company, has built its innovation leadership by blending scientific excellence with cutting-edge digital technology and personalization. It operates at the intersection of beauty, biotech, and tech, constantly reinventing how products are developed, personalized, and delivered.

• Innovation approach: L’Oréal invests over €1 billion annually in R&D and operates more than 20 research centers globally. Its innovation model is built on open innovation, scientific research, and digital transformation. L’Oréal’s acquisitions—like ModiFace (AI/AR for beauty tech)—reflect its commitment to future-ready innovation. It uses AI, AR, and big data to personalize customer experiences and develop products aligned with diverse consumer needs. It also partners with startups through its Open Innovation Program, tapping into external creativity to develop new formulas, sustainable materials, and consumer tech. The company integrates green chemistry and biotech-based ingredients to reduce environmental impact.
• Example Projects: ModiFace Virtual Try-On: Allows customers to test makeup products via AR in real-time, transforming e-commerce and in-store experiences. Perso: A smart skincare and cosmetic device that uses AI to dispense personalized formulas based on user data, skin analysis, and environmental conditions. Biotech Beauty: Partnering with companies like Geno and Debut to produce sustainable alternatives to traditional cosmetic ingredients. YSL Rouge Sur Mesure: A device that allows users to create thousands of personalized lipstick shades at home.
• Impact: L’Oréal’s innovation initiatives have transformed it into a beauty-tech pioneer, expanding its market reach and deepening brand loyalty. It leads in sustainability by reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to eco-designed products. L’Oréal’s success demonstrates how legacy brands can combine science, technology, and personalization to innovate at scale and stay ahead in fast-evolving global markets.

Nike

Nike has become a global symbol of performance, culture, and innovation by continually pushing the boundaries of product design, digital engagement, and brand experience. Its approach to innovation is centered on athlete insight, cutting-edge design, and technology integration—all driven by a strong internal culture of creativity and experimentation.

• Innovation approach: Nike’s innovation engine is powered by the Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL), where scientists, designers, and athletes collaborate using biomechanics, physiology, and data analytics to refine product performance. The company also runs Nike Explore Teams and Innovation Kitchen, where concepts are rapidly prototyped and tested using advanced materials and 3D printing. Nike embraces co-creation and digital platforms to engage consumers directly. It uses machine learning, AI, and ARin its apps to deliver hyper-personalized product recommendations and fitness plans. Sustainability is another pillar of Nike’s innovation, driving the development of circular products and carbon-efficient manufacturing.
• Example projects: Nike Flyknit: A lightweight, seamless upper made with precision knitting technology, reducing waste by 60% compared to traditional methods. Nike Adapt: Self-lacing smart shoes that adjust fit via a mobile app—blending tech and functionality. Nike By You: A co-creation platform allowing customers to customize footwear and apparel. Move to Zero: Nike’s journey toward zero carbon and zero waste, including products made from recycled materials (e.g., Space Hippie shoes). Nike Fit and Nike App at Retail: Uses AR and AI for foot scanning and in-store personalization.
• Impact: Nike’s relentless innovation has allowed it to lead in both performance and culture. Its ability to fuse technology with storytelling and sustainability keeps it relevant across generations. Nike isn’t just selling shoes—it’s shaping the future of sport, fashion, and human potential through a bold and user-obsessed innovation ethos.

P&G

Procter & Gamble, the multinational consumer goods giant behind brands like Tide, Pampers, Gillette, and Olay, has long been a trailblazer in product innovation and brand-building. Its innovation strategy is rooted in deep consumer insight, open collaboration, and advanced science, supported by its longstanding mantra: “The Consumer is Boss.”

• Innovation Approach: P&G pioneered the “Connect + Develop” open innovation model, which actively partners with external inventors, universities, and startups to co-create new products and solutions. This ecosystem-driven model enables faster access to emerging technologies and broader market insights. Internally, P&G integrates Design Thinking, AI, and data science into product development to better anticipate needs and personalize consumer experiences. Its Innovation Centers, located around the globe, combine multidisciplinary R&D teams with local market experts to test and refine concepts in real-world conditions. P&G also prioritizes sustainable innovation, embedding environmental criteria into product design—reducing water, plastic, and carbon footprints without compromising performance.
• Example Projects: Tide Eco-Box: A sustainable laundry detergent delivery system designed for e-commerce, using 60% less plastic and 30% less water. SK-II Future X Smart Store: Uses facial recognition, AI skin analysis, and digital interaction to personalize skincare retail experiences. GilletteLabs Heated Razor: A luxury grooming innovation integrating heat technology to simulate the sensation of a hot towel shave. Always “Like a Girl” Campaign: A fusion of product, purpose, and innovation in brand storytelling and consumer engagement.
• Impact: P&G’s innovation has enabled it to remain a global leader across diverse categories by consistently creating meaningful, high-performance, and sustainable products. Its ability to combine cutting-edge science, user-centric design, and open innovation ensures long-term relevance in an ever-evolving consumer landscape.

On

On, the Swiss running shoe and apparel company founded in 2010, has emerged as one of the most innovative and fastest-growing sportswear brands globally. Its innovation philosophy centres around radical product differentiation, performance design, and sustainability, blending Swiss engineering precision with a distinctive brand ethos.

• Innovation Approach: On pioneered its signature CloudTec® technology—cushioned pods that compress then rebound for a soft landing and explosive takeoff. This unique sole design exemplifies On’s commitment to functional innovation that solves real runner problems. On maintains full control over R&D, testing every concept in its Zurich-based On Lab, in close collaboration with elite athletes and engineers. The company also champions sustainable innovation. On’s R&D focuses on circularity, carbon reduction, and alternative materials. It uses bio-based materials and designs for recyclability, aiming to shift the performance footwear industry toward a more responsible future. Brand-wise, On embraces a community-led, digitally native model. Its Direct-to-Consumer strategy includes strong storytelling, experiential retail, and community activations like “On Run Clubs” to gather insights and build loyalty.
• Example Projects: Cloudmonster: A max-cushion performance running shoe featuring an aggressive take on CloudTec® and Helion™ superfoam. Cyclon: A fully recyclable, subscription-based running shoe made from castor beans—returned and re-manufactured at end of life. On Performance Running Collection: High-performance apparel made with sustainability at its core. On Innovation Hub: A space fostering rapid prototyping, biomechanical testing, and co-creation.
• Impact: On has scaled rapidly, going public in 2021, and earning endorsement from athletes and design aficionados alike. Its blend of engineering innovation, sustainable design, and community storytelling positions it as a new generation performance brand. On proves that challenger brands can reshape entire industries by fusing product innovation with strong purpose and global ambition.

OpenAI

OpenAI is a leading artificial intelligence research and deployment company with a mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity. Founded in 2015, OpenAI has quickly become a trailblazer in AI innovation by combining cutting-edge research with practical applications that transform industries.

• Innovation Approach: OpenAI’s innovation strategy centers on advancing deep learning, reinforcement learning, and natural language processing (NLP). Its team focuses on developing powerful AI models capable of understanding and generating human-like language, reasoning, and decision-making. The organization embraces an open research ethos, publishing breakthroughs and encouraging collaboration with academia and industry. OpenAI uses large-scale model training on vast datasets and cutting-edge architectures, including transformer models, to push the boundaries of what AI can achieve. Safety and ethics are core to OpenAI’s approach. It invests heavily in alignment research to ensure AI systems behave reliably and beneficially. OpenAI also promotes responsible AI deployment, balancing innovation with societal considerations.
• Example Projects: GPT series (including GPT-4): State-of-the-art large language models that power applications from chatbots to content generation and coding assistants. DALL·E: AI models generating high-quality images from textual descriptions, opening creative possibilities. Codex: AI that translates natural language into code, revolutionizing programming workflows. ChatGPT: A conversational AI interface widely adopted for education, customer support, and creative assistance. OpenAI API: A cloud platform enabling businesses to integrate AI into products and services efficiently.
• Impact: OpenAI has accelerated AI adoption across sectors such as healthcare, education, entertainment, and software  development. Its innovations have sparked a global AI revolution, driving new business models, enhancing productivity, and expanding human creativity. By championing both cutting-edge research and responsible innovation, OpenAI shapes the future of AI with a focus on broad societal benefit.

Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy management and automation, known for pioneering digital transformation and sustainability innovation. Its approach centers on enabling smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable energy use across homes, buildings, datacentres, infrastructure, and industry.

• Innovation Approach: Schneider’s innovation is driven by its vision of “Life Is On,” promoting access to energy and digital empowerment for all. It integrates AI, IoT, edge computing, and advanced automation to deliver intelligent solutions that optimize energy efficiency and resilience. The company operates multiple Innovation Hubs worldwide and runs the Schneider Electric Ventures fund to invest in startups tackling energy and sustainability challenges. Schneider also uses a platform-based approach, connecting hardware, software, and services through its EcoStruxure™ architecture—an open, interoperable, IoT-enabled system. It embraces open innovation, collaborating with tech partners, industrial customers, startups, and governments to co-develop solutions. The company also innovates around circularity, digitization, and decentralized energy systems to tackle climate change and empower communities.
• Example Projects: EcoStruxure™ Platform: Provides real-time data, analytics, and automation across energy, IT, and industrial systems—used in buildings, factories, and data centers globally. Green Yodha Campaign (India): A grassroots movement engaging businesses and communities in climate action through smart energy use. Intelligent Microgrids: Helps remote or disaster-prone areas create self-sufficient energy systems using renewables and smart controls. Sustainability School: A digital learning platform launched to upskill professionals in sustainable innovation and energy management.
• Impact: Schneider Electric has been ranked the world’s most sustainable company (2021 and 2025, Corporate Knights) and is widely recognized for driving climate-positive innovation. Its solutions have helped reduce CO₂ emissions for customers globally, proving that technological innovation can go hand in hand with environmental leadership and inclusive growth.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi, founded in 2010, has risen rapidly to become one of the world’s leading electronics and smart device companies. Its innovation strategy is grounded in a unique blend of user-driven R&D, ecosystem integration, cost efficiency, and community co-creation. Xiaomi views innovation not just as breakthrough technology, but as the democratization of smart living—bringing high-quality, affordable products to the masses.

• Innovation Approach: Xiaomi follows a “triathlon” business model: hardware, internet services, and new retail. Its innovation engine is fueled by massive user feedback loops, crowdsourcing feature ideas, and rapidly iterating designs. Xiaomi allocates around 5% of annual revenue to R&D, with growing investments in AI, robotics, electric vehicles, and smart home ecosystems. A defining feature of Xiaomi’s innovation approach is its ecosystem strategy. It has incubated over 400 ecosystem companies, extending its smart living portfolio through partnerships—creating a seamless AIoT (AI + IoT) network of interconnected devices. It also emphasizes lean manufacturing, in-house chipset development (like Surge SoCs), and a highly engaged online fanbase (“Mi Fans”) to sustain a virtuous cycle of co-innovation.
• Example Projects: Mi AIoT Ecosystem: Over 200 million connected devices including air purifiers, TVs, smart locks, and kitchen appliances—all integrated via the Mi Home app. Xiaomi EV (2024): Entry into electric vehicles with the SU7, leveraging software, connectivity, and design strengths from its consumer electronics expertise. Mi Mix Series: Pioneering bezel-less and foldable smartphone designs. HyperOS: A unified operating system designed to power everything from smartphones to IoT and vehicles.
• Impact: Xiaomi’s model has redefined the tech industry in emerging markets. By fusing affordability, design, and user-centric innovation, it has built a global brand trusted by millions. Xiaomi proves that agile, community-led innovation at scalecan disrupt entrenched players and open up new markets across categories.

Waymo

Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., is a global leader in autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, focused on revolutionizing transportation through self-driving technology. Its innovation strategy blends cutting-edge AI, robotics, and sensor technologies with real-world testing to create safe, scalable autonomous mobility solutions.

• Innovation Approach: Waymo’s innovation approach is rooted in data-driven machine learning, simulation, and iterative testing. It uses vast amounts of real-world and simulated driving data to train its AI, continually improving perception, decision-making, and safety. Waymo’s multi-sensor system integrates lidar, radar, and cameras to create a comprehensive 3D model of the vehicle’s environment. The company invests heavily in software development and hardware integration, developing proprietary chips and sensor fusion algorithms to optimize performance and reduce costs. It runs extensive pilot programs and public trials, collaborating with cities, governments, and partners to test and refine its technology under diverse conditions. Waymo also leverages open innovation and partnerships, working with OEMs, logistics firms, and fleet operators to commercialize its autonomous driving system.
• Example Projects: Waymo One: The first fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service, launched in Phoenix, offering driverless rides to the public. Waymo Via: An autonomous trucking and delivery service, aiming to transform freight logistics with safer, more efficient transport. Autonomous Driving System (ADS): A scalable, integrated hardware-software stack that can be deployed on various vehicle platforms. Simulation Suite: A sophisticated virtual environment for testing millions of miles of driving scenarios, accelerating development cycles.
• Impact: Waymo has been a pioneer in building public trust and demonstrating the feasibility of fully autonomous vehicles. Its technology has the potential to reduce accidents, improve mobility access, and lower transportation costs globally. As one of the most advanced AV developers, Waymo is shaping the future of urban mobility, logistics, and smart cities through relentless innovation and real-world impact.

 

What’s next?

In an age of climate urgency, AI disruption, demographic shifts, and social realignment, the companies that thrive will be those that innovate boldly and holistically. Business innovation is not just about the next product launch—it’s about imagining and building the next version of the company itself.

AI won’t just assist innovation—it will become the core engine. From automated R&D and predictive analytics to AI-designed products and services, companies will innovate faster by leveraging generative AI, reinforcement learning, and advanced simulation. This will reduce time from idea to market and enable personalized, real-time innovation.

Innovation will increasingly happen through collaborative ecosystems and platforms rather than isolated corporate labs. Companies will co-create with startups, customers, academia, and competitors via open APIs, decentralized platforms, and blockchain-enabled innovation networks (DAOs). This will accelerate ideation, validation, and scaling globally.

How will companies innovate better and faster?

Real-time experimentation will become key. Rapid prototyping, digital twins, and simulation will enable companies to test thousands of variants quickly with near-instant feedback. This includes agile, data-driven decisions with continuous data integration and AI-powered insights will guide innovation strategies, reducing risks and optimizing investments. It will also be driven by more decentralized governance, with DAOs and blockchain allowing communities and stakeholders to participate directly in innovation governance, funding, and IP sharing.

Innovation will emerge at the intersection of industries, blending insights from tech, biology, energy, finance, and creative sectors. Companies will embed learning cultures supported by AI mentors, real-time knowledge sharing, and skill upskilling. The future of innovation is about collaborative intelligence, speed, purpose, and adaptability. The companies that embed these principles in their DNA will not only survive but thrive and lead new industries.

Further reading

• Deep Dive: Inside Daimler’s Lab1886 … the Stuttgart innovation hub focused on creating the future of mobility
• Deep Dive: Inside Disney’s new iD8 Innovation Studios … where the magic of Mickey Mouse lives on
• Deep Dive: Inside Medtronic’s Applied Innovation Lab … a focus on improving patient experiences, services and outcomes
• Deep Dive: Inside IKEA’s Future Home innovation incubator … from even better Swedish meatballs to flexible rooms
• Deep Dive: Inside Nike’s Research Labs … harnessing the spirit of Bill Bowerman to innovate the future of sports
• Deep Dive: Inside Shell’s TechWorks innovation lab … where there is freedom to fail and to succeed
• Deep Dive: Inside HENRi … Nestle’s hunt for big ideas, after the pharmacist founder who invented a baby formula.
• Further reading: Creating a “Growth Factory” … How P&G tripled its innovation success rate, and how you could too.
• Further reading: Corporate Innovation Ecosystem … how does innovation thrive in large companies
• Further reading: Compendium of Innovation Methods … Nesta’s compilation of the best tools and methods for innovation
• Further reading: Innovation Accelerator: 10 frameworks to accelerate your growth … the most popular frameworks
• Leadership tool: “Innovation Matrix: The right innovation strategy for you”
• Leadership tool: “Innovation DNA: Evaluating your innovation approach”
• Leadership tool: “10 Types of Innovation”
• Leadership tool: “Innovation Toolbox“
• Leadership tool: “Design Thinking Process Guide from Stanford’s D.School“
• Leadership tool: “IDEO Method Cards“
• Leadership tool: “IDEO Human Centred Design Toolkit“
• Leadership tool: “IDEO Human Centred Design Fieldguide“
• Leadership tool: “27 Creativity Tools“
• Leadership tool: “Intuit’s Leapfrogging Innovation Catalyst“
• Further reading: “Design Thinking” by IDEO’s Tim Brown
• Further reading: “How P&G Tripled its Innovation Success Rate“
• Further reading: “20 Ways to Test your Business Ideas“
• Further reading: “The Customer-Centred Innovation Map“
• Further reading: “8 Essentials of Innovation“
• Further reading: “Disrupted to Disruptor: Reinventing the core“
• Further reading: “The Open Book of Social Innovation“
• Video to watch: “Design Thinking Explained“
• Video to watch: “Innovation Explained“
• Video to watch: “Disruptive Innovation Explained“
• Video to watch: “Business Model Innovation Explained“
• Video to watch: “Business Model Canvas Explained“
• Video to watch: “Minimal Viable Product Explained“
• Video to watch: “Pivot Explained

For more, email peterfisk@peterfisk.com

“Forget everything you know about insurance.”

Look around the world and you already see fabulous, innovative insurers reimagining their industry. The challenge of insuring against the risks of catastrophic climate crisis, and the opportunity of developing new AI-predictive business models, gives insurance companies the opportunity for radical reinvention.

• Daniel Schreiber launched US-based Lemonade “to remake insurance for social good, rather than a necessary evil”, a digital native business but illustrating the potential for every company to change.
• In Tokyo, CEO Keiji Nishizawa calls Sompo Insurance “a theme park of services for security, health and wellbeing”, seeking to reinvent the business as encouraging positive lifestyle behaviours, not just a need,
• In London, Previsico, was developed by Dapeng Yu to specifically address the challenges of climate change, and in particular the huge, inpredictable risks of extreme weather and natural disasters
• In Shenzhen, Jessica Tan has turned Ping An into a platform for radical growth, starting with the assets of the world’s largest insurance business, and creating leading platforms in healthcare, mobility, and beyond.

Now is the time for insurance leaders to open their minds, to embrace a world that is changing incredibly fast in both its challenges and opportunities, to reimagine how it supports customers, supports a better world, and drives profitable growth.

Two themes emerge – sustainability, in its many social and environmental forms, provides the greatest risks to society, and therefore challenges for insurance – and AI-enabled technologies provide the most significant opportunities to transform business models, to address these risks more effectively, to reframe insurance brands, and drive new profitable growth for insurers.

AI is already a huge catalyst for reinvention – disrupting the traditional insurance business model by reshaping underwriting and risk assessment, dynamic pricing and efficient distribution, automating claims and customer service. More than this, it will transform the customer experience – predictive analytics enabling personalised policies and pricing, analytics that encourage and reward better customer behaviours. In these ways AI also allows insurance to be more human, more relevant, more positively enabling, and more valued too.

Sustainability becomes an opportunity to do better – including new profitable business lines –  rather than just a necessity for ESG compliance. New initiatives and paid services that support better living and working – from healthy living to safer driving, safer industrial processes and lower emissions – contribute positive social and environmental impacts. Enabled by AI and new technologies, such initiatives profoundly change attitudes and actions of customers, while also transforming insurance risks, profitability and brand perceptions.

• AI for modelling extreme events (Nature)
• AI-driven hurricane risk assessment (Nvidia/AXA)
• Reinventing Insurance: from disaster claims to smart protection (Peter Fisk)

Reinventing insurance around the world

Insurance companies around the world are under immense pressure to reinvent themselves in the face of growing systemic risks—especially from climate change—and are simultaneously presented with unprecedented opportunities through AI and digital technologies. In response, leading insurers are shifting from reactive models (paying claims) to proactive, predictive, and preventive models, leveraging AI, big data, IoT, and partnerships with tech innovators.

There are 4 key drivers of reinvention are rising systemic risks, AI, changing customer expectations and regulatory pressure.

Climate-related catastrophes (wildfires, floods, hurricanes) are increasing in frequency and severity, creating “uninsurable zones” and massive payout burdens. AI enables better risk modeling, real-time pricing, fraud detection, and personalization. Customers demand digital-first, hyper-personalized, and transparent insurance experiences.  Insurers are expected to integrate sustainability and social responsibility into their portfolios.

Illustrating the impact of climate catastrophes: The European floods of 2021 (largely in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands) caused over €40 billion in damages, with over 200 lives lost. Flash floods overwhelmed early warning systems and affected areas previously not classified as high risk. Insurers needed to upgrade flood risk models using AI and satellite data, collaborate with governments to improve climate adaptation infrastructure, expand availability of flood coverage, even in inland or non-traditional risk zones.

Embracing these drivers has led to insurance companies embracing strategic shifts

• From payout to prevention:

  • Insurers are becoming risk partners, not just underwriters.

  • Example: Some use IoT sensors in homes and factories to prevent fires or leaks, reducing both risk and payouts.

• From annual to real-time pricing:

  • AI allows continuous pricing updates based on behavior or environmental changes.

  • Example: Usage-based auto insurance that changes rates depending on driving patterns.

• From generic to hyper-personalized products:

  • AI enables tailored products for niche segments (e.g., gig workers, freelancers, digital nomads).

  • Example: SafetyWing offers global insurance for remote workers, based on individual travel patterns.

• From siloed to ecosystem-based models:

  • Insurers partner with tech platforms, health providers, banks, etc., to embed insurance and improve risk management.

  • Example: Ping An (China) offers health, banking, and insurance in one digital ecosystem

Insurers must rethink risk models – move beyond historical data toward forward-looking, AI-driven climate models that account for compound risks (eg floods and pandemics). This demands they integrate climate scenarios and dynamic risk scoring into underwriting.

They must develop parametric insurance which pays out automatically based on trigger events (eg rainfall level, wind speed), not claim assessments. This is useful for agriculture, tourism, logistics, and governments. It speeds up disaster relief and economic recovery.

They must also close the protection gap. Globally, over 50% of disaster losses are uninsured—much higher in developing nations. This requires them to launch inclusive insurance products for low-income and vulnerable populations using mobile tech and community partnerships.

All this means new business models. For example, promoting risk mitigation, insurers can incentivize resilience through discounts for flood-proofing or wildfire-resistant construction, and credits for using sustainable materials or installing early-warning systems

It can be supported by new public-private partnerships with governments, and diversified risk pools. This means using global reinsurance and alternative capital (catastrophe bonds) to spread risk across regions and investors. As an example Swiss Re and Munich Re are leaders in using catastrophe bonds to absorb extreme losses.

 

Ping An: Reinventing insurance through AI and ecosystem innovation

Ping An, the world’s largest insurance company, has undergone a dramatic reinvention in recent years, transforming from a traditional financial services firm into a global leader in tech-driven insurance and integrated services. Central to this reinvention is its pioneering use of artificial intelligence, big data, and ecosystem thinking to tackle emerging risks and reshape the customer experience.

Faced with climate change-driven risks such as floods and typhoons, Ping An has invested heavily in AI-powered weather risk modeling. Its Smart Weather platform combines satellite data, sensor networks, and AI analytics to monitor extreme weather events in real time and assess their potential impact on insured properties and agricultural assets. This allows Ping An to proactively warn customers, deploy resources, and adjust coverage dynamically—reducing both risk exposure and claims costs.

Beyond reactive protection, Ping An has built an ecosystem of services designed to help customers prevent risks and improve their lives. For example, its “Good Doctor” health platform—used by over 300 million users—integrates AI triage, telemedicine, and online drug delivery, reducing pressure on hospitals and helping customers manage chronic health risks before they escalate. Similarly, its Smart City initiatives use AI and IoT technologies to work with local governments to enhance disaster resilience, improve traffic safety, and reduce pollution.

These innovations are underpinned by Ping An’s vast technology infrastructure. The company’s in-house tech arm, OneConnect, provides cloud-based digital solutions to insurers and banks worldwide, turning Ping An’s transformation into a scalable, exportable service. AI is embedded across its operations, from underwriting and claims assessment to fraud detection and customer service. The company reports over 1.4 billion AI service interactions annually.

Ping An’s reinvention is paying off. It has achieved superior underwriting profitability while maintaining rapid growth in digital channels. More importantly, it is redefining what an insurance company can be—not just a payer of claims, but a partner in life. By turning risk prevention into a service and embedding itself in daily life through health, finance, and city services, Ping An has built a moat that extends well beyond traditional insurance.

AXA: From Payer to Partner in Risk Prevention and Climate Resilience

French multinational AXA is a prime example of an insurer embracing reinvention in the face of global environmental and social challenges. With operations in over 50 countries, AXA is repositioning itself as a partner in prevention, using digital technology and new business models to reduce risk and support more resilient communities.

In response to climate change, AXA has taken a proactive approach to helping customers prepare for and adapt to extreme weather events. Through its partnership with climate tech firms, it offers predictive tools that use AI to model flood, wildfire, and storm risk. These tools help homeowners, businesses, and cities understand their vulnerabilities and take pre-emptive measures, from elevating infrastructure to adjusting land use.

AXA Climate, a specialized division, works with corporations, governments, and NGOs to build resilience to climate shocks. It offers parametric insurance products—where payouts are triggered automatically by pre-agreed data thresholds (e.g., rainfall or wind speed)—delivering rapid financial relief after disasters. This model is especially valuable in developing markets where traditional claims processing is slow or infeasible.

Beyond climate risk, AXA is also tackling lifestyle-related risks. It has launched services like “MyAXA Health Coach” to help customers prevent chronic diseases through personalized wellness plans, behavioral nudges, and access to dieticians and fitness experts. In mobility, AXA has introduced dynamic insurance pricing for electric vehicles and shared mobility services, using telematics data to reward safe driving habits and reduce accidents.

Digital transformation underpins these efforts. AXA uses AI for customer triage, risk scoring, and automated claims processing. Its data analytics platforms allow it to offer hyper-personalized policies and preventive advice, while its venture arm, AXA Next, invests in startups that align with its “from payer to partner” vision.

Through these innovations, AXA is positioning itself as more than an insurer—it’s a catalyst for systemic risk reduction and behavioral change. By aligning insurance with sustainability and prevention, AXA is charting a path for the industry to remain relevant and resilient in a world of rising risk.

Sompo: Reinventing Insurance for a Resilient and Safer Society

Sompo Holdings, one of Japan’s leading insurers, is undergoing a bold transformation from a traditional insurance company into a purpose-driven service provider focused on risk prevention, resilience, and well-being. With climate change, aging populations, and global uncertainty reshaping the nature of risk, Sompo is innovating its business model to not just insure against loss but actively reduce and prevent it.

A central pillar of Sompo’s reinvention is its focus on technology—particularly artificial intelligence, data analytics, and digital platforms. One of the standout initiatives is Sompo’s use of AI to address extreme weather and natural disaster risk. Japan is particularly vulnerable to typhoons, earthquakes, and flooding, and Sompo has responded by investing in advanced catastrophe modeling and predictive analytics. Its AI systems analyze weather data, satellite imagery, and environmental trends to anticipate the severity and impact of incoming storms. This enables Sompo to proactively notify customers, advise on evacuation or property protection steps, and deploy rapid response teams more efficiently—mitigating losses before they occur.

Sompo also operates an integrated crisis management platform called “SOMPO Risk Manager,” which helps businesses and municipalities plan for and respond to disasters. The platform combines AI forecasting tools, risk visualization dashboards, and real-time alerts to support strategic decision-making during emergencies. This is particularly valuable for supply chain risk management, a growing concern in the wake of global disruptions.

At the same time, Sompo is reshaping its relationship with customers through personalized services aimed at reducing behavioral risks. One example is the company’s investment in digital health and elder care. Recognizing the challenges of Japan’s aging society, Sompo has developed “SOMPO Care,” a comprehensive service that integrates long-term care, remote monitoring, and AI-based health assessment tools. By helping seniors live more safely and independently, Sompo is not only creating social impact but also reducing long-term insurance claims and healthcare costs.

In auto insurance, Sompo is using telematics and behavioral data to reinvent its motor products. Through its “DRIVE AGENT” app, the company tracks driving behavior in real time and provides feedback, coaching, and emergency support. Customers who drive safely receive discounts, while the app can also summon help automatically after a crash. This move from passive coverage to active risk management has improved customer engagement and reduced accident-related claims.

Sompo’s innovation is supported by a global digital strategy. Through its subsidiary Palantir Japan and its Silicon Valley-based Sompo Digital Lab, the company is building data platforms that connect healthcare, mobility, disaster prevention, and risk modeling. It has also launched Sompo Light Vortex, a cloud-based architecture to accelerate digital services and AI deployment across its businesses.

This transformation is part of Sompo’s broader strategic vision, called “Sompo Group Vision 2030,” which aims to create “a theme park for security, health, and well-being.” By aligning business growth with societal resilience and customer empowerment, Sompo is redefining the role of insurance in the 21st century—from reactive protection to proactive prevention and care.

Lemonade: Reinventing Insurance with AI, Behavioral Science, and Purpose

Lemonade, a New York-based insurtech founded in 2015, is redefining what an insurance company can be in the digital age. With a mission to “transform insurance from a necessary evil into a social good,” Lemonade has built a business model radically different from traditional insurers—powered by artificial intelligence, behavioral economics, and a transparent, values-driven approach.

At the core of Lemonade’s reinvention is its use of AI and automation. The company’s digital interface is built around two chatbots—“Maya,” which handles policy sign-ups, and “Jim,” which manages claims. These bots use natural language processing and machine learning to deliver lightning-fast, intuitive service. Customers can get insured in under 90 seconds and receive claim payouts in as little as three minutes, without speaking to a human. Behind the scenes, Lemonade’s AI models assess risk, detect fraud, and price policies dynamically based on real-time data and user behavior.

This AI-first model enables Lemonade to operate with much lower overhead than legacy insurers. But what truly sets it apart is its unique business structure: Lemonade charges a flat fee (typically 25%) from customer premiums to cover operations and reinsurance, and the remainder is pooled to pay claims. At the end of the year, unclaimed money is donated to nonprofits chosen by customers as part of the company’s “Giveback” program.

This structure addresses a long-standing tension in traditional insurance—the conflict of interest where insurers profit by denying claims. Lemonade’s model aligns its incentives with customers by taking profit off the table in the claims process. As a result, customers are more trusting and less likely to game the system, which is reinforced by Lemonade’s use of behavioral nudges (like pledging honesty on video before submitting a claim).

In addition to renters and homeowners insurance in the U.S., Lemonade has expanded into pet, term life, and car insurance. Its car insurance product uses telematics and smartphone sensors to assess driving behavior—rewarding safe driving with lower premiums and offering eco-conscious features like carbon offsetting. This not only encourages safer roads but aligns with a younger, sustainability-minded customer base.

Lemonade is also expanding globally, offering insurance in Germany, the Netherlands, and France, with ambitions to enter more markets. Its cloud-native infrastructure and AI-driven operations allow it to scale quickly, customize offerings locally, and maintain a consistent brand experience.

Despite being a relatively new player, Lemonade has built strong customer loyalty and brand differentiation, particularly among millennials and Gen Z. Its Net Promoter Scores consistently outperform industry averages, and its transparent, digital-first approach has positioned it as a disrupter in a risk-averse, slow-to-change industry.

Lemonade’s reinvention of insurance goes beyond technology. It’s about rebuilding trust, removing friction, and making insurance feel less like a transaction and more like a public good. In a world of increasing risk—from climate change to cyber threats—Lemonade shows how aligning incentives, automating the experience, and infusing purpose into every policy can help reinvent the business of insurance for the better.

 

Oscar Health: Reinventing Health Insurance with AI, Behavioral Science, and Purpose

Oscar Health is reshaping the American health insurance landscape by combining technology, data science, and a relentless focus on consumer experience. Founded in 2012 in New York City by Mario Schlosser, Josh Kushner, and Kevin Nazemi, Oscar emerged with a bold ambition: to make health insurance simple, transparent, and human.

Unlike traditional insurers burdened by legacy systems and opaque practices, Oscar was designed from the ground up as a digital-first health insurer. From the beginning, it emphasized intuitive design, smart use of data, and consumer empowerment. Its mobile app and website provide members with seamless access to their health plan, including a searchable provider directory, real-time benefits tracking, and 24/7 virtual care.

One of Oscar’s core innovations is its use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to drive personalization and efficiency. AI is integrated into multiple layers of the business—from customer support chatbots and virtual care triage to complex claims processing and risk modeling. Oscar’s Intelligent Virtual Assistant (IVA) parses user queries and guides members to appropriate resources, while its Care Router tool uses data to match patients with providers who have strong outcomes for specific conditions. These technologies not only improve user satisfaction but also reduce unnecessary costs.

Oscar also embraces behavioral economics to change how members engage with their health. Members are incentivized to make healthier choices through step-tracking rewards, personalized health nudges, and easy-to-navigate care options. The company’s design ethos is user-centric and rooted in transparency—members are always informed of their costs upfront, with clear explanations of coverage and claims.

Oscar’s unique value proposition has made it particularly attractive to younger, tech-savvy consumers who are often underserved by conventional insurers. The company has expanded rapidly, now serving more than 1.8 million members across 18 states. It offers individual, family, and small group plans, as well as co-branded health plans in partnership with major health systems such as Cleveland Clinic.

In 2020, Oscar launched +Oscar, a tech platform offering its infrastructure to other payers and providers, turning its technology edge into a scalable service. By opening its backend to others, Oscar is evolving from a pure insurance provider into a broader healthcare platform company—positioning itself at the intersection of health, data, and AI.

Oscar’s financial journey has been challenging—like many insurtech startups, it faced steep losses in its early years. But the tide began to turn by 2024, when Oscar reported its first profitable year with over $25 million in net income and a 57% growth in revenue to $9.2 billion. This milestone signaled not just operational maturity but validation of its digital model.

Looking ahead, Oscar aims to expand its footprint and deepen its AI capabilities, with a focus on population health, chronic care management, and further automation. It continues to advocate for a reimagined insurance experience—one that’s data-driven, prevention-focused, and fundamentally more human.

In a healthcare system often defined by confusion and inefficiency, Oscar Health offers a compelling glimpse into what insurance can be when reimagined through the lens of technology, empathy, and consumer empowerment.

Swiss Re: From Reinsurer to Climate Intelligence Company

Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies, is transforming itself from a traditional provider of risk transfer into a forward-looking climate intelligence company. Founded in 1863 and headquartered in Zurich, Swiss Re has long been a global leader in managing complex risks. Today, facing the escalating impact of climate change, it is positioning itself at the forefront of climate adaptation, risk analytics, and sustainability-focused innovation.

Swiss Re’s transformation is driven by a recognition that climate change is no longer a distant threat—it’s a present, intensifying risk that touches every aspect of business and society. As natural catastrophes become more frequent and severe, insurers and reinsurers must evolve from simply absorbing climate-related losses to actively helping clients understand, manage, and reduce those risks.

At the heart of Swiss Re’s reinvention is climate intelligence—the application of advanced data, science, and technology to map, model, and mitigate climate risks. The company’s proprietary CatNet® platform provides detailed risk assessments using climate models, satellite data, and geospatial analytics. This tool helps clients—from governments to global corporations—understand their exposure to floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and heatwaves with a level of granularity that goes far beyond traditional underwriting.

Swiss Re has also launched Climate Solutions, a business unit dedicated to supporting clients’ transition to a low-carbon economy. This includes designing parametric insurance products that pay out automatically based on predefined climate triggers—such as rainfall levels or wind speeds—offering faster recovery for communities and businesses impacted by extreme weather.

In parallel, Swiss Re is reengineering how it operates as a company. It has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050, both in its underwriting and investment portfolios. It was among the first reinsurers to phase out coverage for new oil and gas projects that conflict with the Paris Agreement goals. Its investment arm is redirecting capital toward renewable energy, clean infrastructure, and green bonds, aligning its balance sheet with global decarbonization efforts.

Technology plays a crucial role in Swiss Re’s evolution. The company is integrating machine learning and AI into its climate models to forecast long-term risk scenarios with greater precision. Through partnerships with academic institutions and climate tech startups, it is helping to develop next-generation risk models that account for the non-linear impacts of climate change.

One example is Swiss Re’s work on urban climate resilience. Collaborating with cities around the world, Swiss Re combines satellite imaging, AI, and economic modeling to assess risks such as urban heat islands and flood zones—then helps municipal governments build tailored resilience strategies and secure insurance coverage for critical infrastructure.

Financially, Swiss Re remains robust, but its strategy is no longer centered on premiums and payouts alone. It is becoming a knowledge partner, enabling clients to anticipate and adapt to climate risk, not just insure against it. CEO Christian Mumenthaler has described the shift as moving from “protecting against the past” to “enabling decisions for the future.”

Swiss Re’s transformation signals a broader industry pivot. As the climate crisis deepens, the future of insurance will depend less on compensating loss and more on empowering prevention. Swiss Re is leading that transition—from reinsurer to climate intelligence company.

Zurich Insurance: Reinventing Insurance Through Technology and Sustainability

Zurich Insurance Group, one of the world’s largest and oldest insurance companies, is undergoing a bold transformation to stay ahead in an industry facing profound disruption from climate change, technology, and changing customer expectations. Founded in 1872 and headquartered in Switzerland, Zurich is embracing a future-forward strategy that combines digital innovation, artificial intelligence, and sustainability to reinvent both its business model and value proposition to customers.

At the heart of Zurich’s reinvention is its ambition to become a more data-driven, customer-centric organization. Over the past five years, Zurich has significantly increased its investment in digital capabilities, launching AI-powered tools for underwriting, claims processing, and risk prevention. For example, the company’s use of machine learning in commercial insurance helps assess and price complex risks more accurately and in real time. In retail insurance, Zurich uses AI to automate simple claims, reducing processing time from days to minutes.

Zurich has also partnered with tech startups and scaled internal innovation hubs to accelerate digital transformation. Its “Zurich Innovation Championship” invites startups worldwide to co-develop solutions in areas like cyber risk, sustainability, and digital health. Winning innovations have included AI-based wildfire prediction models and smart sensor platforms to prevent property damage.

One of Zurich’s most impactful transformations is its commitment to tackling climate-related risk. Recognizing the growing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, Zurich is not just paying claims—it’s helping customers proactively reduce risk. The company offers climate advisory services and resilience assessments for corporate clients, and it has partnered with tech firms to develop early-warning systems for floods and wildfires. These tools combine satellite data, meteorological inputs, and AI to alert communities and businesses before disaster strikes.

In retail insurance, Zurich is increasingly focused on prevention. For example, the company offers home insurance customers smart water leak detectors that reduce the likelihood of damage—and claims—by alerting homeowners in real time. In motor insurance, Zurich provides telematics-based products that reward safe driving and help drivers improve their behavior behind the wheel.

Zurich’s reinvention also includes a sharp pivot toward sustainability. The insurer has committed to achieving net-zero emissions across its operations and investments by 2050. It was one of the first major insurers to stop underwriting new oil and gas projects that are not aligned with the Paris Agreement. At the same time, Zurich is investing heavily in green bonds and renewable energy infrastructure, aligning its capital with its values.

Financially, Zurich’s transformation is delivering results. The group reported a strong combined ratio and continued growth in 2024, with CEO Mario Greco attributing success to the company’s ability to “transform itself faster than the risks around us are changing.”

Zurich is proving that even a 150-year-old insurer can lead in an age of uncertainty—by embracing technology, focusing on sustainability, and shifting from a payer of claims to a true partner in risk prevention and resilience. Its transformation underscores how insurers can evolve from reactive institutions to proactive enablers of a safer, more sustainable future.

Some more examples of insurance companies reinventing themselves include

Allianz, investing in AI and Climate Resilience

Allianz has invested heavily in climate risk modelling, working with tech partners like ClimateView and One Concern to predict regional vulnerabilities. It uses AI-driven pricing and underwriting to refine property insurance policies based on real-time data from satellites, sensors, and weather models. Allianz has also launched “climate adaptation insurance” products for municipalities and businesses. This has resulted in improved underwriting accuracy, reduced claim costs, and increased trust among ESG-conscious clients.

Aviva, Sustainability and Data-Driven Risk Prevention

Aviva is embedding climate change into its core strategy, divesting from fossil fuels and steering capital toward sustainable investments. It is using AI to model risk exposure to climate transition policies, helping corporate clients assess liability and reputation risks. The firm is digitizing claims through AI chatbots and automated assessment, speeding up resolution times. This has resulted in competitive ESG ratings, early mover advantage in net-zero insurance, and improved operational efficiency.

AXA, Leading in Parametric and Inclusive Insurance

AXA Climate, a subsidiary, offers parametric insurance using real-time weather and satellite data—especially useful in agriculture, where farmers are paid automatically if rainfall thresholds are missed. AXA also invests in AI-based early warning systems and ecosystem resilience tools, especially in Asia and Africa. They’ve launched microinsurance and inclusive insurance products in emerging markets using mobile platforms. The result? New revenue streams in underserved markets, a strong presence in climate adaptation financing, and lower administrative costs via automation.

BIMA, Mobile Microinsurance and AI

Swedish insurance company BIMA provides affordable health and life insurance via mobile phones in underserved markets, largely in Africa. It uses AI to assess risk profiles based on behavior (e.g., mobile usage, health data).  Over 35 million users in emerging markets, reducing financial vulnerability in low-income communities.

Singlife, Embedded Insurance and Ecosystem Play

The Singapore insurer offers “embedded insurance” through banking and lifestyle platforms (e.g., instant coverage while booking flights). It uses AI to personalize plans based on user lifestyle and financial behavior. This has resulted in broader market reach and improved customer engagement in Southeast Asia.

The result is a reinvention of business, reducing risks and costs, building new revenues and profitability

• Operational Efficiency: AI reduces fraud, claims processing time, and administrative costs.
• New Markets: Digital tools and mobile microinsurance reach previously unserved populations.
• Risk Mitigation: Real-time data helps reduce exposure and pricing volatility.
• Customer Loyalty: Proactive service, digital UX, and social impact build trust.
• Investor Confidence: Climate-aligned portfolios attract ESG capital and comply with regulations.

The most innovative insurance companies preparing for extreme crises—from war and geopolitical disruption to climate-driven catastrophes—are those actively building capabilities in real-time risk modeling, parametric insurance, resilience services, and digital ecosystems. These companies are not just covering losses; they’re helping prevent them, mitigate impact, and enable faster recovery.

Here are the standouts:

Munich Re (Germany)

Why it leads:

• Global leader in reinsurance for natural disasters, pandemics, and cyberwarfare.

• Heavy investment in climate risk modeling, satellite data, and catastrophe bonds.

• Innovator in parametric insurance for floods, droughts, and typhoons.

Innovations:

• Risk transfer tools for governments and megaprojects.

• Partnership with Cloud to Street and The Climate Corporation.

• Reinsurance for solar/wind assets with automated weather triggers.

AXA Climate (France)

Why it leads:

• Sub-brand of AXA focused entirely on climate adaptation and disaster resilience.

• Offers climate parametric policies to companies, farms, and public entities.

• Combines satellite data, agritech, and carbon project consulting.

Innovations:

• Covers supply chain disruption from climate events.

• Tools for biodiversity, soil health, and sustainable transition.

• Advises on ESG-linked insurance and climate disclosure compliance.

FloodFlash (UK)

Why it leads:

• Specializes in parametric flood insurance using IoT sensors.

• Payouts triggered immediately when water levels reach a pre-agreed height.

• Covers SMEs and underserved geographies usually excluded by traditional insurers.

Innovations:

• <24-hour payouts.

• Sensor-as-a-service model for urban resilience.

• Solves flood underinsurance crisis rapidly expanding with climate change.

Swiss Re (Switzerland)

Why it leads:

• Global leader in disaster and systemic risk finance.

• Works with governments, NGOs, and financial institutions to design resilience-based products.

Innovations:

• Public-private partnerships (e.g., African Risk Capacity).

• Climate analytics via its Climate Solutions platform.

• Development of sovereign catastrophe covers.

QBE (Australia)

Why it leads:

• Integrated catastrophic event response units.

• Active in regions prone to cyclones, bushfires, and flooding.

• Focused on building resilience into property and agriculture.

Innovations:

• Risk reduction programs in Asia-Pacific.

• Tools for sustainable farming insurance.

• Embedded weather products in agribusiness.

Lloyd’s of London (Marketplace)

Why it leads:

• Covers hard-to-insure systemic risks like cyberwarfare, terrorism, political violence.

• Innovation Lab fosters InsurTech and climate solutions.

Innovations:

• Black Swan Reinsurance Facility for tail-risk events.

• Syndicates offer war-on-earth and climate-linked asset protection.

• Hosting new models for carbon capture insurance, space assets, and even pandemic risk.

Sompo Holdings (Japan)

Why it leads:

• Building real-time disaster prevention infrastructure using Palantir’s analytics.

• Focus on societal protection in high-risk regions like Japan and Southeast Asia.

Innovations:

• Real Data Platform for earthquake, typhoon, and aging risk.

• Integration with municipal disaster planning.

• Smart care homes designed for climate-resilient infrastructure.

Q&A

“How can we, as leaders in the insurance industry, move beyond simply being a financial backstop for these events and become active partners in building resilience?”

The insurance industry stands at an inflection point. For centuries, insurers have provided society with stability by absorbing financial shocks—whether from fire, flood, accident, or illness. Yet today, the scale, speed, and complexity of risks are outpacing the traditional model. Extreme climate events, cyberattacks, pandemics, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical instability are creating losses that are not just more frequent, but more systemic.

At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies are transforming how risk can be understood, predicted, and managed. Insurers face both a threat and an opportunity: remain stuck as reactive claims payers, or reinvent themselves as proactive risk partners who enable resilience for individuals, businesses, and societies.

From Risk Transfer to Risk Mitigation

Historically, insurance has been about risk transfer: pooling resources so the unlucky few who suffer losses can be compensated. But in a world where systemic risks can destabilise entire markets or communities, simply writing checks is no longer enough.

The new model must be about risk mitigation: reducing the likelihood, impact, and recovery time of risks before and after they occur. This requires insurers to expand their role from passive financiers to active enablers of prevention, adaptation, and resilience.

The Role of AI in Reinvention

AI is central to this shift. Rather than looking backward at historical loss data, insurers can use AI to:

1. Predict emerging risks – Real-time climate modelling, cyber threat detection, and health analytics.
2. Personalise prevention – Tailored risk advice for policyholders, from connected home devices to wearable health monitoring.
3. Automate claims and response – Faster, more transparent payouts, freeing resources for proactive services.
4. Enable dynamic pricing – Continuous risk assessment that rewards resilience-building behaviour.

AI doesn’t just make insurers more efficient—it enables entirely new services and value propositions.

Critical Investments for the Industry

1. Data ecosystems
   • Invest in platforms that integrate diverse datasets—climate, health, mobility, supply chains—to model risks more holistically.
   • Partner with governments, tech firms, and research institutions to share insights, not just within actuarial silos.
2. Resilience infrastructure
   • Co-invest in flood defenses, wildfire buffers, or cyber resilience systems, aligning insurance with public goods.
   • Develop “resilience bonds” or blended finance models that tie coverage to mitigation measures.
3. AI-driven risk services
   • Build digital tools that give customers continuous risk insights (e.g., cyber threat alerts, extreme weather warnings).
   • Position insurers as everyday advisors rather than once-a-year premium collectors.

Partnerships That Matter

• With technology companies – For AI, IoT, blockchain, and cloud infrastructure to enable predictive risk modelling and smart contracts.
• With governments and municipalities – To co-fund infrastructure, share data, and address uninsurable risks (such as climate-induced catastrophes).
• With customers – Moving from transactional relationships to collaborative partnerships where data is shared in exchange for risk reduction and lower premiums.
• With peers – Creating pooled insurance mechanisms for systemic risks that exceed the capacity of any one player.

Reinventing Business Models

To shift from claims payer to risk mitigator, insurers must embrace new models:

• Prevention-as-a-service – Offering subscription-style risk monitoring, education, and advisory alongside traditional policies.
• Embedded insurance – Integrating protection seamlessly into products and platforms (e.g., travel apps, smart homes, e-commerce).
• Outcome-based models – Linking premiums and payouts to measurable resilience outcomes (e.g., emissions reduced, cyberattacks prevented).
• Community-based models – Leveraging mutual and cooperative structures to build shared responsibility and trust.

A New Mindset for Insurance Leaders

Reinvention is not only about products and technology; it is about culture and purpose. Leaders must shift their mindset from:

• Claims processing → Risk partnership
• Historical underwriting → Predictive resilience
• Short-term loss ratios → Long-term societal stability
• Insularity → Ecosystem collaboration

In doing so, insurers can redefine their role as guardians not just of financial assets, but of societal resilience.

The Strategic Question

Insurance has always been about making the future less uncertain. But in an age of climate extremes, pandemics, and digital disruption, the future is not only uncertain—it is volatile, interconnected, and fast-moving. The industry’s legitimacy will depend on whether it can help societies navigate these shocks proactively.

The challenge for leaders is clear: how to harness AI, forge new partnerships, and redesign business models to ensure insurance is not the last line of defence but the first line of resilience.

On a Collaborative Approach to Sustainability

A new nexus is emerging in the insurance industry.

For decades, our companies have operated in parallel—competing for customers, innovating in products, and working within regulatory frameworks. Yet today, the scale of the challenges we face—climate change, social inequality, demographic shifts, systemic cyber threats—demands a different approach. No single firm, no matter how large or innovative, can address these issues alone.

The insurance sector has always been about resilience. But resilience in the 21st century cannot be reduced to risk transfer; it must include prevention, adaptation, and social sustainability. That means moving from individual corporate initiatives to collaborative, industry-wide action. Together, our seven companies can form a nexus of influence—aligning capital, data, and expertise to create impact that no single player could achieve.

Why Collaboration Matters

1. Scale of Risk
   • Climate-related losses are growing at a rate that outpaces economic growth.
   • Social inequality undermines both markets and the insurability of populations.
   • These risks are systemic and interconnected—too large for any one balance sheet.
2. Shared Responsibility
   • As insurers, we are not just underwriters of risk, we are stewards of capital, influencers of corporate behaviour, and enablers of resilience in communities.
   • When we move in concert, we can set standards, shift market expectations, and accelerate sustainable transformation.
3. Trust and Legitimacy
   • Customers, regulators, and investors are demanding more than financial results.
   • Collaborative sustainability initiatives can reinforce trust and strengthen our social license to operate.

Incentives and Disincentives

• Regulatory incentives
  • Increasingly, regulators are requiring climate risk disclosure (e.g., TCFD, EU taxonomy, ISSB standards).
  • Some markets are rewarding sustainable investments with preferential capital treatment.
  • Public–private partnerships are emerging to de-risk green infrastructure, opening new avenues for insurers.
• Market incentives
  • Investors are shifting trillions into ESG-aligned portfolios.
  • Customers, particularly younger generations, prefer brands aligned with sustainability and fairness.
  • Collaborations on green bonds, resilience bonds, or carbon risk pools create competitive differentiation.
• Disincentives and barriers
  • Fragmented regulations across regions slow alignment.
  • Short-term shareholder pressure can conflict with long-term sustainability goals.
  • The “first-mover disadvantage”—the fear of higher costs or stricter commitments—can hold companies back unless collaboration ensures a level playing field.

Measuring Long-Term Value

If we measure only quarterly profits, sustainability will always feel like a cost. To justify and drive collaboration, we need to broaden the definition of value:

1. Financial resilience – Reduced long-term exposure to catastrophic losses, more predictable portfolios, and new revenue streams from sustainable products.
2. Regulatory goodwill – Better positioning with regulators who increasingly reward proactive sustainability action.
3. Reputational capital – Brand strength, trust, and talent attraction—intangibles that now drive a majority of enterprise value.
4. Societal impact – Reduced vulnerability of communities, improved access to protection for underserved populations, and contribution to the UN SDGs.
5. System stability – Stronger, more sustainable economies ultimately create healthier insurance markets.

This means designing impact measurement frameworks that go beyond financial ratios to include carbon reduction, resilience outcomes, and social inclusion metrics.

The Call to Action

As leaders of seven companies, Eurapco has a rare opportunity. If we collaborate—sharing data on climate risks, co-investing in resilience infrastructure, pooling resources to make underserved markets insurable—we can create a multiplier effect far beyond what any one of us could do alone.

We can shape a future where insurance is not just a safety net but a springboard for sustainable growth.

The new nexus in our industry is not competition versus collaboration—it is collaboration as a source of competitive strength. By aligning our strategies, leveraging regulatory and market incentives, and measuring value in broader terms, we can transform insurance from a backstop into a force for positive, systemic change.

That is the challenge before us. And it is also the opportunity to redefine our industry for the next generation.

Example Collaborations

1. Insurance Development Forum (IDF)
   • A public–private partnership between the UN, World Bank, and leading insurers (including Allianz, AXA, Swiss Re, Lloyd’s).
   • Works to extend insurance and risk management tools to vulnerable countries, particularly against climate and disaster risks.
2. UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI)
   • A global framework under the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
   • Over 220 insurers, reinsurers, and brokers have signed on, committing to integrate ESG issues into their business.
3. Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA)
   • Launched by eight of the world’s largest insurers and reinsurers, backed by the UN.
   • Members commit to transitioning underwriting portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
4. ClimateWise (Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership)
   • A global network of insurers and reinsurers developing research, policy, and practical tools for climate risk management.

Regional & Market-Focused Initiatives

1. African Risk Capacity (ARC)
   • A specialised agency of the African Union, backed by insurers and reinsurers.
   • Provides parametric insurance to African nations for droughts, floods, and pandemics, enabling rapid payouts and resilience-building.
2. Oasis Loss Modelling Framework
   • An open-source catastrophe modelling initiative supported by insurers, reinsurers, and academics.
   • Collaborative approach to risk data and modelling, lowering costs and improving access for smaller firms and emerging markets.
3. Flood Re (UK)
   • A partnership between the UK Government and insurers to make flood insurance affordable for high-risk households.
   • A practical example of blending public–private resources to address climate-driven risks.

Company-Collaborative Projects

1. Swiss Re – Climate Resilience Partnerships
   • Works with governments and NGOs on climate adaptation projects (e.g., mangrove restoration in coastal areas to reduce storm surge damage).
2. Munich Re – Green Tech Solutions
   • Co-develops new insurance products with renewable energy firms and infrastructure developers to accelerate clean energy adoption.
3. AXA Climate
   • Offers risk analytics and training services to corporates, farmers, and institutions, helping them adapt to climate and biodiversity challenges.
4. Lemonade & Giveback Model
   • While a digital-first insurer, Lemonade’s cooperative-style Giveback funds NGOs chosen by customers—aligning business with social impact.

Collaborative Measurement & Standards

1. Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

• Not insurance-specific, but widely adopted by insurers.
• Provides a standardised framework for climate risk disclosure, encouraging comparability and accountability.

1. Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) & ISSB Standards

• Insurers collaborate in adopting these standards, enabling measurement of ESG and sustainability performance in comparable ways.

Summary

In an era of escalating polycrisis (climate, cyber, conflict, contagion), insurance companies that go beyond indemnity to become resilience platforms will unlock new value streams, win customer trust, and define the future of the sector.

Look beyond the insurance industry, and you already see the patterns of transformational change, and what it could mean for disruptive start-ups and reinventing incumbents. From agriculture to healthcare, energy to entertainment, finance and retail, sustainability has become a huge challenge – and AI, an incredible opportunity – driving the innovation of products and services, and fundamental business models too. These adjacent worlds offer us new inspiration and practical pathways to reinvent insurance for a smarter, cleaner, happier, better future.

As business leaders, our opportunity is to create a better business, one that is fit for the future, that can act in more innovative and responsible ways.

How can we harness the potential of this relentless and disruptive change, harness the talents of people and the possibilities of technology? How can business, with all its power and resources, be a platform for change, and a force for good?

We need to find new codes to succeed. We need to find new ways to work, to recognise business as a system that be virtuous, where less can be more, and growth can go beyond the old limits. This demands that we make new connections:

• Profit + Purpose … to achieve more enlightened progress
• Technology + Humanity … to achieve more human ingenuity
• Innovation + Sustainability … to achieve more positive impact

We need to create a new framework for business, a better business – to reimagine why and redesign how we work, as well as reinvent what and refocus where we do business.

Imagine a future business that looks forwards not back, that rises up to shape the future on its own terms, making sense of change to find new possibilities, inspiring people with vision and optimism. Imagine a future that inspires progress, seeks new sources of growth, embraces networks and partners to go further, and enables people to achieve more.

Imagine too, a future business that creates new opportunity spaces, by connecting novel ideas and untapped needs, creatively responding to new customer agendas. Imagine a future business that disrupts the disruptors, where large companies have the vision and courage to reimagine themselves and compete as equals to fast and entrepreneurial start-ups.

Imagine a future business that embraces humanity, searches for better ideas, that fuse technology and people in more enlightened ways, to solve the big problems of society, and improve everyone’s lives. Imagine a future business that works collectively, self-organises to thrive without hierarchy, connects with partners in rich ecosystems, designs jobs around people, to do inspiring work.

Imagine also, a future business which is continually transforming, that thrives by learning better and faster, develops a rich portfolio of business ideas and innovations to sustain growth and progress. Imagine a future business that creates positive impact on the world, benefits all stakeholders with a circular model of value creation, that addresses negatives, and creates a net positive impact for society.

Creating a better business is an opportunity for every person who works inside or alongside it. It is not just a noble calling, to do something better for the world, but also a practical calling, a way to overcome the many limits of today, and attain future success for you and your business.You could call it the dawn of a new capitalism.

Insights and Inspirations

At the start of 2025 I brought together over 100 trend reports, as a platform to share in keynotes and workshops, and also for my own sanity. Not being up to speed feels stressful, not being able comprehend seems alienating. But we all need more fluid minds to cope in today’s fast and complex spaces, to make some sense of the drama and dimensions of change.

I started with an A to Z, a trend kaleidoscope if you like, of some of the most profound changes relevant right now:

There are many sources of foresight. Some accessible, some credible, some comprehensible. Most people tend to focus on technology. Revolutionary, rampant and remarkable. AI’s impact is already incredible, as its ability to galvanise other tech, and in particular networks (blockchain), multinomic (genetics), energy (storage), and robotics.

Two of the best future tech reports that come out each year have just been published

• Big Ideas 2025: ARK Invest focus on the opportunities for investors in a bewildering world of opportunity
• Tech Trends 2025: Future Today Institute’s epic 1000 page report on the tech and tech titans embracing it

Tech gets all the focus, the glamour, the hype. But the future is much more than tech. It’s how you use it.

Inspiring Possibilities

How can tech address the big challenges of a changing world – social mobility, climate change, and much more? How can tech align with human capability and social aspirations, to enable us to do more? How can tech be embraced within new business models to create real breakthrough innovations which can transform markets and business?

To go beyond tech, I love the annual reports from the Dubai Future Foundation. While they might sound like a provincial think tank, preoccupied with turning the UAE into a land of foresight, they are much more  global thinking, and profound too. There are two fantastic reports, just published, exploring the big ideas for innovation and growth in a world of quantum shifts:

• Megatrends 2025: Exploring the 10 megatrends that are shaping the world over the next decade
• The Global 50: Focusing on the 50 big opportunities which these convergent trends offer us.

Innovative Reinvention

The big question for most of us, is then how can we embrace these incredible opportunities within the businesses of today? How will they help to transform our mindset about possibilities, to supercharge innovation, to accelerate growth, to reinvent business?

Look around us, and we already have so many incredible innovators shaking up every market, not just through product innovations but through fundamental reinvention of organisations, markets, and entire industry sectors.

So which are the innovative companies around the world that inspire you? My passion is to track down and learn from the world’s most inspiring companies –  disrupting conventions, reinventing business models,  innovating and transforming, creating value with positive impact. I typically focus in on their leaders, what inspires them, and their strategies, what drives their futures. You can explore many more on my website.

What can you learn from them? In this world of incredible possibility, what will you do?

Because the future starts here. Next is now.

As business leaders, our opportunity is to create a better business, one that is fit for the future, that can act in more innovative and responsible ways.

How can we harness the potential of this relentless and disruptive change, harness the talents of people and the possibilities of technology? How can business, with all its power and resources, be a platform for change, and a force for good?

We need to find new codes to succeed. We need to find new ways to work, to recognise business as a system that be virtuous, where less can be more, and growth can go beyond the old limits. This demands that we make new connections:

• Profit + Purpose … to achieve more enlightened progress
• Technology + Humanity … to achieve more human ingenuity
• Innovation + Sustainability … to achieve more positive impact

We need to create a new framework for business, a better business – to reimagine why and redesign how we work, as well as reinvent what and refocus where we do business.

Imagine a future business that looks forwards not back, that rises up to shape the future on its own terms, making sense of change to find new possibilities, inspiring people with vision and optimism. Imagine a future that inspires progress, seeks new sources of growth, embraces networks and partners to go further, and enables people to achieve more.

Imagine too, a future business that creates new opportunity spaces, by connecting novel ideas and untapped needs, creatively responding to new customer agendas. Imagine a future business that disrupts the disruptors, where large companies have the vision and courage to reimagine themselves and compete as equals to fast and entrepreneurial start-ups.

Imagine a future business that embraces humanity, searches for better ideas, that fuse technology and people in more enlightened ways, to solve the big problems of society, and improve everyone’s lives. Imagine a future business that works collectively, self-organises to thrive without hierarchy, connects with partners in rich ecosystems, designs jobs around people, to do inspiring work.

Imagine also, a future business which is continually transforming, that thrives by learning better and faster, develops a rich portfolio of business ideas and innovations to sustain growth and progress. Imagine a future business that creates positive impact on the world, benefits all stakeholders with a circular model of value creation, that addresses negatives, and creates a net positive impact for society.

Creating a better business is an opportunity for every person who works inside or alongside it. It is not just a noble calling, to do something better for the world, but also a practical calling, a way to overcome the many limits of today, and attain future success for you and your business.You could call it the dawn of a new capitalism.

Holcim Trading and logistics

Holcim Trading is the leader in seaborne trading of cementitious products.

“We provide solutions for the import and export needs of cementitious materials, gypsum, solid fuels and other dry bulk goods and support our customers with adequate services to develop their market.

Our chartering and shipping teams manage a diverse network of seaborne logistics operating bulk carrier vessels and specialized self-discharging pneumatic cement carriers.

From our trading offices in Zurich, Singapore and Miami we offer around the clock support to our suppliers and customers around the world.”

So where are the opportunities for growth?

Technology

• AI and Automation: Leveraging AI and automation can optimize supply chain operations, enhance shipment tracking, and improve warehouse management. This can lead to cost reductions and increased efficiency.
• Blockchain: Implementing blockchain technology can enhance transparency and security in transactions, making the trading process more reliable and efficient.

Sustainability

• Green Logistics: Investing in carbon-neutral shipping solutions, electric vehicles, and alternative fuels can help Holcim meet global sustainability demands and reduce emissions.
• Sustainable Practices: Adopting cleaner energy practices at ports and shipping hubs can align with international environmental goals and attract eco-conscious clients.

Market Expansion

• Construction Growth: Shift to urbanisation around the world, the growth of megacities, and construction projects more generally, from new Asia to the regeneration of Europe.
• Global Trade Expansion: Expanding services in emerging markets and leveraging new trade agreements can drive growth in cross-border shipping.

Customer Experience

• Personalized Services: Investing in advanced technologies to enhance customer experience and provide personalized services can differentiate Holcim from competitors.
• Real-Time Analytics: Integrating real-time analytics and autonomous systems can revolutionize supply chain management and improve customer satisfaction.

Specifically in the area of technology, AI can be a transformative force in Holcim’s trading and logistics activities. As examples

• Predictive Analytics: AI can analyze historical data and market trends to predict commodity prices, helping Holcim make informed trading decisions.
• Automated Trading: Implementing AI-driven trading algorithms can optimize buying and selling strategies, reducing human error and increasing efficiency.
• Risk Management: AI can assess market risks and provide real-time insights, enabling Holcim to mitigate potential losses and make strategic decisions.
• Route Optimization: AI-powered logistics platforms, like Holcim’s Transport Analytics Center (TAC), can optimize delivery routes, reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
• Predictive Maintenance: AI can monitor the condition of vehicles and equipment, predicting maintenance needs before breakdowns occur, thus minimizing downtime.
• Supply Chain Management: AI can enhance supply chain visibility, ensuring timely deliveries and efficient inventory management.
• Safety Improvements: AI can analyze driver behavior and vehicle data to improve safety standards and reduce accidents.

Case Study

More from Peter Fisk linked to these sessions

• Next Agenda of best ideas and priorities for business
• Megatrends 2030 in a world accelerated by pandemic
• Business Futures Project by Peter Fisk
• 49 Codes to help you develop a better business future
• 250 innovative companies shaking up every market
• 100 inspiring leaders with the courage to shape a better future
• Education that is innovative, issue-driven, action-driving
• Consulting that is collaborative, strategic and innovative
• Speaking that is inspiring, topical, engaging and actionable

• Download a summary of Innovate Beyond keynote by Peter Fisk.  

Adidas has become one of the most renowned brands in the world, particularly in the sports. Adi Dassler’s passion for sport and understanding of athletes led to groundbreaking innovations in sportswear.

Adidas has consistently built strong marketing campaigns around innovation, performance, and high-profile athletes, from legendary marathoner Haile Gerbreselasie to Olympic 100m champion, Noah Lyles. It continues to innovate and push boundaries in both performance and lifestyle segments.

From its inception, Adidas Running has been at the forefront of technological advances in footwear, and running shoes have been a central part of the brand’s portfolio.

Adidas Adizero, especially the 2012 and 2014 versions, became famous for being worn by marathon runners to break world records.  Adidas UltraBoost debuted in 2015, featuring the revolutionary midsole technology, plush , responsiveness, and sleek design. Adidas Solarboost, launched in 2018, with precision-tuned design elements for long-distance runners. Adidas Adizero Pro, added in 2020,  one of the lightest performance shoes designed specifically for marathoners.

Lightstrike Pro foam and Primeknit uppers focus on making shoes even lighter, more comfortable, and responsive. In addition to Futurecraft Loop, the brand has been pioneering shoes made from Parley Ocean Plastic and other sustainable materials.

Ideas and inspirations for innovation

Of course the running shoe market is packed with innovations. The launch of so-called supershoes in recent years, with new foams and carbon plates, has transformed the market, and athletic performance.

And a new generation of brands have entered the running shoe market, companies like Hoka and On, Li-Ning and Saysh, but also other examples with adjacent specialisations in sport and fitness.

Known for its interactive fitness equipment and online classes, Peloton has revolutionized home workouts. Mirror, a reflective screen offers personalized workouts with top trainers, providing a virtual fitness studio experience. Parkrun, started in my hometown of Teddington, is now a global initiative that organizes free weekly 5km events in local parks, promoting community and fitness. Whoop, a wearable tech company that provides detailed insights into athletes’ performance and recovery.

But how could Adidas look beyond immediate competitors, to take inspiration from brands in other sectors?

How can we take ideas about brands and communication, channels and business models, products and services, and apply them to the world of running in creative ways?

• Abridge: Using AI to transcribe doctor-patient interactions and generate medical notes, improving healthcare documentation and patient care.
• Adyen has transformed the payment industry by providing a single platform for businesses to accept payments anywhere in the world, both online and in-store.
• Agility Robotics: Developing humanoid robots that can walk, grasp, and carry objects, revolutionizing logistics and manufacturing.
• Arabica: Coffee shops with Asian minimalism, African coffee roastery, and Arabic meeting place. Founded by Japanese entrepreneur seeking to “See the World Through Coffee”.
• Athletic Brewing:Whether you’re looking to cut out alcohol for life or just for a night, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your ability to be healthy, active and at your best, to enjoy great beer.
• Agua Bendita produces super-luxury handmade bikinis, inspired by their Colombian roots, and made by a team of 700 single mothers from off-cuts of fabric.

• Bumble: A social discovery app empowering women to make the first move in dating, friendships, and professional networking
• Canva: An online design tool making graphic design accessible to everyone with easy-to-use templates and collaboration features.
• Colossal Biosciences seeks to reawaken the past, to bring back extinct species using CRISPR technology, through genetic rescue, to support biodiversity
• Duolingo, the language learning app has transformed the way people learn new languages by making the process fun, accessible, and gamified.
• EcoSpirits: Introduces new pricing models that incentivize consumers to return bottles for recycling, promoting a circular economy.
• Ecovative uses mycelium, from mushrooms, to grow category defining products ranging from leather like textiles to sustainable packaging.

• Elf: A beauty and skincare brand known for its affordable, clean, and effective products. 100% vegan, no animal testingand made without the nasty bad-for-you stuff.
• FanDual. Online fantasy sports and sports betting platform, transforming the way fans engage with sports, providing an immersive and interactive experience.
• Fenty: Known for its inclusive beauty products, Fenty continues to disrupt the beauty industry with its wide range of shades and innovative formulations.
• Fervo Energy: Innovating in geothermal energy to provide a sustainable and reliable source of clean energy.
• Gorilla Glass. Known for its durable and damage-resistant glass used in smart phones and other electronic devices
• Halo Top Creamery is attracting more ice cream lovers with a promise of lower calories and less guilt.

• Helsing: Specializing in AI-powered defence solutions, Helsing is transforming how military operations are conducted.
• Impossible Foods has revolutionized the food industry by offering sustainable and delicious options that closely mimic the taste and texture of traditional meat.
• Impulse Space: Working on space propulsion technology to make space travel more efficient and cost-effective.
• Ipsy: Personalized makeup and beauty products by monthly subscription, exclusive offers, and how-to video tutorials from the brand’s stylists.
• Iqos. Heats tobacco instead of burning it, producing a vapor that contains nicotine but has less ash, smoke, and odour compared to conventional cigarettes
• Jio: An Indian telecommunications company providing affordable internet services and revolutionizing digital connectivity in India.
• Klarna. Known for its “buy now, pay later” financial services, Klarna has revolutionized the way consumers shop online by offering flexible payment options

• Liquid Death: Known for its bold branding and canned water, Liquid Death has disrupted the beverage industry.
• Meati: This company produces high-protein, sustainable meat alternatives made from mushroom roots.
• Mirror: This reflective screen offers personalized workouts with top trainers, providing a virtual fitness studio experience.
• Nextdoor: Transformed the way neighbourhoods connect and communicate by providing a platform to share news, events, recommendations, and services.
• Niyara India: This brand has quickly become a go-to for modern Indian women, blending elegance, comfort, and affordability.
• NotCo: Using artificial intelligence to create plant-based alternatives to animal products, NotCo is revolutionizing the food industry.
• Oatly: This plant-based milk brand has gained significant market share by appealing to consumers looking for sustainable and healthy alternatives to dairy.

• Octopus Energy: A renewable energy supplier in the UK, committed to providing affordable and sustainable energy solutions.
• OpenAI: Continues to lead the AI revolution with its generative AI models, impacting various industries from cybersecurity to agriculture.
• Parkrun: A global initiative that organizes free weekly 5km events in local parks, promoting community and fitness.
• Peloton: Known for its interactive fitness equipment and online classes, Peloton has revolutionized home workouts.
• Quibi. Known for its short-form mobile streaming platform, quick, engaging content designed for mobile devices, catering to the modern, on-the-go consumer.
• Reformation: This brand focuses on sustainable fashion and has a strong online presence, making it a leader in digital marketing and e-commerce.
• Revolut. The money superapp, or neobank, enabling everyday banking, currency exchange, stock trading and more. With a particular focus on travellers.

• Seedlip: Partners with bars and restaurants to offer non-alcoholic cocktail options, promoting the idea of “mindful drinking.”
• Smarter: This company brought the Internet of Things (IoT) to consumers with products like Wi-Fi-connected kettles and fridge cameras.
• Sway: A beverage brand that has made waves with its innovative flavors and sustainable packaging.
• Tony’s Chocolonely wants to make all chocolate 100% slave free. Not just our chocolate, but all chocolate worldwide.
• Too Good To Go is a mobile app that connects customers to restaurants and stores that have unsold, surplus food

• Tru Earth: A laundry detergent brand that offers eco-friendly and waste-free packaging, appealing to environmentally conscious consumers.
• Unmind. Provides a digital platform offering tools and resources for employees to manage their mental well-being,
• Varda Space Systems: Developing space infrastructure to support the growing space economy, including satellite manufacturing and space logistics.
• Waabi: Focused on autonomous driving technology, Waabi is making strides in making self-driving cars safer and more reliable.
• Who Gives a Crap: A toilet paper brand that donates 50% of its profits to build toilets for those in need around the world.

• Whoop: A wearable tech company that provides detailed insights into athletes’ performance and recovery.
• Xero. Transformed how medium-sized businesses manage their finances by offering user-friendly and efficient tools that streamline accounting processes.
• Youfoodz. Revolutionized the convenience food market in Australia by offering fresh, healthy, gourmet meal options that are delivered directly to your door.
• Zepto: A rapid delivery startup that promises delivery within 10 minutes, disrupting the food delivery market.
• Zipline: A company using drones to deliver medical supplies to remote and hard-to-reach areas.

Here are some examples of the possibilities thinking. While many of these areas have already been explored in some ways, how could another brand’s approach help to think about it differently:

• Sustainable innovation: Tesla’s commitment to sustainable energy and electric vehicles. Adidas could continue to innovate in sustainable materials and production processes. Investing in cutting-edge technologies, such as recyclable and biodegradable materials, can strengthen their environmental impact.
• Social innovation: Patagonia’s campaigns that promote inclusivity, social and environmental issues. Adidas could further its commitment to diversity and inclusion by launching campaigns that resonate with a broader audience. Collaborating with athletes and influencers who champion social causes can amplify their brand message.
• Customer innovation: Amazon’s relentless focus on customer satisfaction and convenience. Adidas could enhance its customer service by leveraging data analytics to understand customer preferences and offer personalized recommendations. Ensuring a seamless shopping experience across all touchpoints is crucial.
• Community innovation: Peloton’s focus on building a strong community around their fitness products. Adidas could create and nurture communities around sports and fitness, offering exclusive content, events, and engagement opportunities. This can build brand loyalty and a sense of belonging among customers.
• Strategic innovation: Netflix’s pivot from DVD rentals to streaming services. Adidas could stay agile by anticipating market trends and being ready to pivot its strategies. Embracing digital transformation and staying ahead of consumer expectations will keep them competitive.

These are starters. Let’s go further …

What does 2025 have in store for you, and your business?

Trends are the patterns of change shaping every aspect of culture and society, brands and business. They start as weak signals, often deviant behaviours on the edges of markets, and then embraced and amplified by the mainstream. Of course there are short-term fads, but trends are the more enduring ideas. And megatrends are the seismic shifts, illuminating your strategic pathways to the future.

As a business leader, CEO or project manager, marketer or innovator, finance or technologist, trends help you to navigate a world of relentless change. Indeed as change accelerates – not just because of incredible new technologies but also because of new agendas like climate change, and evolving social attitudes of young and old – so we need to look forwards, more than ever.

Each year there’s an avalanche of so-called trend reports. Some are decidedly flaky, full of superficial hyperbole, while some are built on profound insight.

Different trends will have more significance depending on your purpose, industry and location. That’s why I try to bring the best reports together, as a “kaleidoscope” of change.  I then work with companies to make sense of what matters most, building vision and strategy, and how to embrace change as your best opportunities to innovate and grow.

Are you ready to seize these opportunities? 

How will you – and your strategy, organisation, people and projects – embrace the challenges and opportunities of change ahead of us? Where are your biggest opportunities for innovation and growth? What are your priorities to balance short and longer term? How will you behave as a manager and leader?

We’ve developed a new program for Danish business leaders, managers of companies large and small, to get up to speed with the very latest ideas, tools and approaches to business, learning from companies and experts around the world. It’s called the Executive Management Program, delivered as a hybrid program online and in Madrid.

It’s like a Mini MBA, but fit for today’s world, where challenges like economic uncertainty and climate change are matched by opportunities like the applications of AI and new business models. It includes an exciting dynamic business simulation, about managing and leading change, plus insights and ideas from the world’s most interesting companies, right now.

 

Incredible technologies and geopolitical shifts, complex markets and stagnating growth, demanding customers and disruptive entrepreneurs, environmental crisis and social distrust, unexpected shocks and uncertain futures.

How do you make sense of today’s rapidly changing world? How will you succeed in tomorrow’s world?

We explore how businesses can survive and thrive, and move forwards to create a better future. How to reimagine strategy, to reinvent markets, to reenergise people. We consider what it means to combine meaningful purpose with superior profits, intelligent technologies with creative people, radical innovation with sustainable impact.

The old codes of business don’t work anymore. The most innovative companies – from Amazon and Anthropic, to Blackrock and Bytedance, Climeworks and Coupang, to DJI and Deepmind – succeed with new codes.

So what are the new ideas to win in a fast and dynamic world of Asian renaissance, entrepreneurial supremacy, social conscience and smarter machines? What can you learn from Jio’s revolution from petrochemicals to phones, and DBS’s transformation of banking? How can you be inspired by courageous leaders like 23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki, Haier’s Zhang Ruimin and Citigroup’s Jane Fraser?

Changing World, Leading Change

Key takeaways from the day will include

Markets are more crowded, competition is intense, customer aspirations are constantly fuelled by new innovations and dreams. Technology disrupts every industry, from banking to construction, entertainment to healthcare. It drives new possibilities and solutions, but also speed and complexity, uncertainty and fear.

As digital and physical worlds fuse to augment how we live and work, AI and robotics enhance but also challenge our capabilities, whilst ubiquitous supercomputing, genetic editing and self-driving cars take us further.

Technologies with the power to help us leap forwards in unimaginable ways. To transform business, to solve our big problems, to drive radical innovation, to accelerate growth and achieve progress socially and environmentally too.

We are likely to see more change in the next 10 years than the last 250 years.

• Markets accelerate, 4 times faster than 20 years ago, based on the accelerating speed of innovation and diminishing lifecycles of products.
• People are more capable, 825 times more connected than 20 years ago, with access to education, unlimited knowledge, tools to create anything.
• Consumer attitudes change, 78% of young people choose brands that do good, they reject corporate jobs, and see the world with the lens of gamers.

However, change goes far beyond the technology.

Markets will transform, converge and evolve faster. From old town Ann Arbor to the rejuvenated Bilbao, today’s megacities like Chennai and the future Saudi tech city of Neom, economic power will continue to shift. China has risen to the top of the new global business order, whilst India and eventually Africa will follow.

Industrialisation challenges the natural equilibrium of our planet’s resources. Today’s climate crisis is the result of our progress, and our problem to solve. Globalisation challenges our old notions of nationhood and locality. Migration changes where we call home. Religious values compete with social values, economic priorities conflict with social priorities. Living standards improve but inequality grows.

Our current economic system is stretched to its limit. Global shocks, such as the global pandemic of 2020, exposes its fragility. We open our eyes to realise that we weren’t prepared for different futures, and that our drive for efficiency has left us unable to cope. Such crises will become more frequent, as change and disruption accelerate.

However, these shocks are more likely to accelerate change in business, rather than stifle it, to wake us up to the real impacts of our changing world – to the urgency of action, to the need to think and act more dramatically.

The old codes don’t work

Business is not fit for the future. Most organisations were designed for stable and predictable worlds, where the future evolves as planned, markets are definitive, and choices are clear.

The future isn’t like it used to be.

Dynamic markets are, by definition, turbulent. Whilst economic cycles have typically followed a pattern of peaks and troughs every 10-15 years, these will likely become more frequent.  Change is fast and exponential, uncertain and unpredictable, complex and ambiguous demanding new interpretation and imagination.

Yet too many business leaders hope that the strategies that made them successful in the past will continue to work in the future. They seek to keep stretching the old models in the hope that they will continue to see them through. Old business plans are tweaked each year, infrastructures are tested to breaking point, and people are asked to work harder.

In a way of dramatic, unpredictable change, this is not enough to survive, let alone thrive.

• Growth is harder. Global GDP growth has declined by more than a third in the past decade. As the west stagnates, Asia grows, albeit more slowly.
• Companies struggle, their average lifespan falling from 75 years in 1950 to 15 years today, 52% of the Fortune 500 in 2000 no longer exist in 2020.
• Leaders are under pressure. 44% of today’s business leaders have held their position for at least 5 years, compared to 77% half a century ago.

Profit is no longer enough; people expect business to achieve more. Business cannot exist in isolation from the world around them, pursuing customers without care for the consequence. The old single-minded obsession with profits is too limiting. Business depends more than ever on its resources – people, communities, nature, partners – and will need to find a better way to embrace them.

Technology is no longer enough; innovation needs to be more human. Technology will automate and interpret reality, but it won’t empathise and imagine new futures. Ubiquitous technology-driven innovation quickly becomes commoditised, available from anywhere in the world, so we need to add value in new ways. The future is human, creative, and intuitive. People will matter more to business, not less.

Sustaining the environment is not enough. 200 years of industrialisation has stripped the planet of its ability to renew itself, and ultimately to sustain life. Business therefore needs to give back more than it takes. As inequality and distrust have grown in every society, traditional jobs are threatened by automation and stagnation, meaning that social issues will matter even more, both globally and locally.

The new DNA of business

As business leaders, our opportunity is to create a better business, one that is fit for the future, that can act in more innovative and responsible ways.

How can we harness the potential of this relentless and disruptive change, harness the talents of people and the possibilities of technology? How can business, with all its power and resources, be a platform for change, and a force for good?

We need to find new codes to succeed. We need to find new ways to work, to recognise business as a system that be virtuous, where less can be more, and growth can go beyond the old limits. This demands that we make new connections:

• Profit + Purpose … to achieve more enlightened progress
• Technology + Humanity … to achieve more human ingenuity
• Innovation + Sustainability … to achieve more positive impact

We need to create a new framework for business, a better business – to reimagine why and redesign how we work, as well as reinvent what and refocus where we do business.

Imagine a future business that looks forwards not back, that rises up to shape the future on its own terms, making sense of change to find new possibilities, inspiring people with vision and optimism. Imagine a future that inspires progress, seeks new sources of growth, embraces networks and partners to go further, and enables people to achieve more.

Imagine too, a future business that creates new opportunity spaces, by connecting novel ideas and untapped needs, creatively responding to new customer agendas. Imagine a future business that disrupts the disruptors, where large companies have the vision and courage to reimagine themselves and compete as equals to fast and entrepreneurial start-ups.

Imagine a future business that embraces humanity, searches for better ideas, that fuse technology and people in more enlightened ways, to solve the big problems of society, and improve everyone’s lives. Imagine a future business that works collectively, self-organises to thrive without hierarchy, connects with partners in rich ecosystems, designs jobs around people, to do inspiring work.

Imagine also, a future business which is continually transforming, that thrives by learning better and faster, develops a rich portfolio of business ideas and innovations to sustain growth and progress. Imagine a future business that creates positive impact on the world, benefits all stakeholders with a circular model of value creation, that addresses negatives, and creates a net positive impact for society.

Creating a better business is an opportunity for every person who works inside or alongside it. It is not just a noble calling, to do something better for the world, but also a practical calling, a way to overcome the many limits of today, and attain future success for you and your business.You could call it the dawn of a new capitalism.

More from Peter Fisk linked to these sessions

• Next Agenda of best ideas and priorities for business
• Megatrends 2030 in a world accelerated by pandemic
• 49 Codes to help you develop a better business future
• 250 companies innovators shaking up the world
• 100 leaders with the courage to shape a better future
• Education that is innovative, issue-driven, action-driving
• Consulting that is collaborative, strategic and innovative
• Speaking that is inspiring, topical, engaging and actionable

Creating a better future … transforming your business, transforming yourself.

Welcome to the future, right now.

Superfast-gaming chips and fat-busting superdrugs, asteroid-chasing rockets and carbon-capturing technologies, 4 day working weeks and chess reinvented as a reality TV game, health-enhancing fashions and the rebirth of the hairy mammoth. Nvidia is transforming tech, while Novo Nordisk innovates healthcare, KinetX changes the space race, while Climeworks eliminates carbon.

We used to marvel at innovations with a leap of imagination. Ideas and technologies that promised to transform our world, but seemed a little out of reach. Now, science fiction has collided with practical reality, powered by mind-boggling technologies that are evolving at incredible speed, but also rapid social and cultural change, accelerating human possibilities into practice.

Next is now, not only because of the pace of innovation, but also the convergence of pathways – technologies, industries, customers, applications and expectations.

What’s happening in gaming today, shapes new experiences in retail or finance. New possibilities of space travel accelerate the evolution of EVs. Clean energy meets green cement. Pharma tech meets fashion tech. Physical and digital are one, fast developing markets outpace the old stagnated developed markets, and GenZ outthink their GenX leaders.

The future is already here, even if it’s unevenly distributed. Curiosity drives creativity, enabled by new capabilities to address the biggest challenges. So what could you do? What’s your vision of next, and how do you start now?

Are you ready to lead the future?

The Global Advanced Management Program (“Global AMP”) is IE Business School’s flagship program for executives stepping up to lead the future of business.

It’s for leaders who are stepping up to become the next CEO, or maybe to join the C-suite, to run a business unit, or getting ready to do so. (Age and hierarchy are not necessarily the indicators of who will lead your future business!). It’s for leaders who seek to be re-inspired, re-energised ready for an incredible future – to drive business-wide transformation, to reimagine their industry, to change the way their entire business and market works.

It’s for ambitious leaders, game changers, future makers.

If you can see yourself leading your business into the future … if you can start to imagine a business of the future, beyond that currently imagined by your leaders and peers. … then this is for you.

If you are intensely curious, positively dissatisfied, and highly ambitious … and have the courage to take on the next step, not just for you, but for your business too … then this is for you.

Our goal is to create the world’s best program for leaders like you … making sense of today’s incredible, complex and fast-changing world … and how you can have the brains and boldness to create, shape and deliver the future in your own vision.

Each year we take on a small group of 20-30 leaders and work together to help you transform your future. In the last two years, we have brought together some fantastic participants from all over the world, and many different sectors, ready to step up and shape their business, to lead their futures. They have gone on to thrive in their own worlds, and are still part of the Global AMP  community. You can join them.

Step up to lead the post-pandemic future

The Global AMP  is more relevant than ever, as the global Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted every market and business, demanding that leaders step up to think and act in new ways. As people around the world have shifted to digital technologies at home and work, we are likely to see an acceleration in new ways of working, new types of business, and new leaders.

The pandemic became a catalyst for innovation, not just to survive through crisis and uncertainty, but to adapt to a rapidly changing world. Indeed it is no surprise that 57% of companies are founded in a downturn, and most innovations are born out of crisis too. Now, more than ever is the time when business needs leaders with new mindsets, new skills, and who can combine advanced learning with simultaneous business transformation.

Participants 

The Global AMP program is for hungry business leaders, typically aged 35-50 years old, currently working 1-2 levels below the C-suite, who are ready to create a better future – for their business, and themselves.

Each year the group of 24-30 participants come from across the world, and across sectors – from Argentina and Algeria, Belgium and Brazil, Canada and Colombia, Germany and Guatemala, Jordan and Japan, Nigeria and Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain, UAE and USA – construction and chemicals, energy and education, finance and fashion, pharmaceuticals and payments, telecoms and tech.

“So honored to be part of this program, and having gone through this learning journey with such a courageous, talented and inspiring group of leaders – now friends – from all over the world. It gave us a unique space to step out of our comfort zones, think about the future, transform our businesses and ourselves. Here’s to our futures!” Alexandra Miranda Bao, COO, Citi, Costa Rica.

“An amazing experience with an amazing group of friends, together we have completed a fantastic learning journey, by graduating last week from one of the best executive programs, the Global AMP in Madrid after presenting the gamechanger projects, showcasing disruptive models to reshape the business world in many industries. our new resolution is to embark ourselves and our organizations on a constant transformational journey by leading from the future.”  Omar Korshid, Technical Director, Heidelberg Cement, Egypt.

Perform and transform, exploit and explore, great gamechanger projects and amazing last week in Madrid. The best, the amazing people and good friends met along the program. Finally the Global Advance Management Program is over but a brilliant future is ahead of us.” Manuel Gariddo Gellado, Corporate Sales Director, GRI Renewables, Spain.

Topical, practical content

The content is entirely updated, anticipating the changing needs of business and its people as we navigate a world or relentless change – from the uncertainty of pandemic and conflict, to recession and deglobalisation, radical new technologies and huge challenges like climate change –  and through the next decade – embracing the megatrends that drive global markets and intelligent technologies, to the convergence of markets and emergence of new business models, new ways of working and the challenges of leading for today, and tomorrow.

We look to the companies who are shaping the world right now – from Allbirds to Aerofarms, Alibaba and Arabica, to Babylon and BlackRock, Bolt Threads and Bytedance. We will learn from every sector – the rapidly changing world of healthcare and finance, fashion and retail, media and travel, manufacturing and technology. How are they being shaped by AI and digital platforms, by 3D printing and ecosystems, emerging markets and new consumer agendas?

Liquid format

To make the Global AMP  even more accessible, practical, and applied to the changing needs of you and your business, we have enhanced the format. It will now take on a much more “liquid” learning structure, so that you can continue to work, and accelerate your leadership development, during these uncertain yet important times. The program will combine online and physical formats over a longer period, enabling you to learn more, apply more, and get more practical value from the experience.

Transforming your business, transforming yourself

The program takes on a more dynamic learning style, helping your to explore how to transform yourself and your business, for a world of rapid and continuous change.

We’ve structured the four weeks into a practical yet exciting journey through the world of business –  starting from the future megatrends to today’s growth drivers, exploring a world of disruptive innovations and energising organisations. In the mornings we zig, we explore all the best new ideas business, what matters for business. In the afternoon we zag. We shift venue – to a more relaxed venue – to reflect on the personal leadership challenges. What does it mean for me, my business and our future?

Tranform! business simulation 

The ultimate challenge for any business leader is to put all the ideas, strategies, projects together as a transformational program for the organisation over time.

The business simulation takes the format of an interactive game, playing with other students around the world, physically and online, over three months. It will focus on one particular, dynamic industry and be relevant to what is happening right now in the real world.

If you were the CEO of a leading business in that industry, what would you do? Imagine you are in the world of mobility – Elon Musk has just launched a partnership with Volkswagen, China is massively subsidising rapid adoption, BYD is growing rapidly in Europe and Americas, safety regulation is changing, factories can not cope with the growth in demand, media and employees need to be kept on side.

Gamechanger project

In addition to exploring the very latest business ideas and theories, the program is highly personalised in two ways – coaching and project work. The “gamechanger” project is your opportunity to develop your own blueprint for transforming the future of your business, or a new business of your own.

You work one to one with the Academic Director in exploring and defining a new vision which you can take back, share with your business colleagues, and implement over time. It is supported by a Gamechanger Toolkit, and works alongside all modules, applying the learning to your own business, and future potential.

Personal coaching

The one to one leadership coaching program helps you to make sense of your own strengths and style, and coaches work with you to develop this, to respond to the new needs, and to prepare to step up to business leadership. It starts with an in-depth diagnostic of your leadership attitudes and behaviours, and then your coach works with you over time, independent from the rest of the program, as this is specifically about you.

Detailed structure

Phases 1 and 3 will be online, built around a 2-4 hour session each Friday. During these sessions we will bring together the best ideas from around the business world, with expert faculty, and also take you on “deep dives” into what is happening right now in some of the world’s leading businesses.

Phases 2 and 4 will be residential, one week in Segovia, a world heritage site in Spain, and one week in the capital, Madrid. These weeks will also feature leading faculty brought together from around the world, and also enable more time for group networking and collaboration with colleagues who typically come from many different industries and every part of the world. Week 4 concludes with your graduation at IE Business School.

Delivered by some of the world’s top business leaders and thinkers

We bring together the world’s most inspiring and thoughtful faculty. This year it additionally includes

• Peter Fisk, academic director of the Global AMP,  bestselling author of Gamechangers, and Business Recoded
• Tendayi Viki, a psychologist-based innovator, author of Pirates in the Navy, and partner of Strategyzer
• Christian Rangen, expert on business transformation, with both corporates and startups, especially in energy
• Mark Esposito, Canadian, technology futurist and AI pioneer, founder of Nexus FrontierTech, author of AI Republic.
• Mark Fritz, expert in leading change, author of Lead and Influence, having worked on four continents for Kodak
• Verónica Reyero, human anthropologist exploring a more human future, and founder of Anthropologia 2.0
• Marcos Cajina, founder of Renewal, that focuses on the neuroscience of emotional engagement for leaders
• Steven MacGregor, author of Chief Wellbeing Officer, founder of the Leadership Academy of Barcelona
• Conchita Galdon, expert in sustainability strategy and practice, and leader of IE’s think tank in ESG
• Ricardo Perez, technologist, researcher at MIT, focused on start-ups and emerging digital technologies
• Jaime Veiga, consumer researcher, specialist in understanding fast changing markets and new consumer agendas
• Javier Bernad, helps leaders to present and perform better, from storytelling to keynotes, vision and action

Global participants

Importantly, the Global AMP brings together a great mix of participants from across sectors and around the world, enhancing your personal network, and learning experience for everyone.

Examples of recent participants include:

• Finance, Head of Investment Banking, Portugal
• Technology, Regional Marketing Leader, Egypt
• Healthcare, Head of Clinical Development, Japan
• Drinks, Supply Chain Director, Mexico
• Airlines, Head of Network Development, UAE
• Technology, Customer Service Director, Mexico
• Energy, Corporate Strategy Director, Spain
• Mining, Innovation Director, South Africa
• Real Estate, Founder and CEO, Portugal
• Sustainable Investment Fund, CEO, France
• Healthcare, Senior Medical Advisor, USA
• Technology, Entrepreneur, Saudi Arabia
• Manufacturing, CEO and Chairman, Turkey
• NGO, Founder and Director, Kenya

All participants then join the exclusive Global AMP alumni network, including regular networking and ongoing resources.