Innovation Ahead by IRI

Talk of AI is everywhere now, but are companies actually using new tools in a systematic way? If so, how? Chitra Kumar Sai, data scientist at INVISTA, shares examples of how they are using AI tools, including natural language processing, large language models, computer vision, and machine learning for root cause analysis. Learn how their data governance has enabled them to move quickly on these new technologies and how they are rolling tools out in the organization.

Learn from experienced innovation leaders how they have organized their R&D and innovation functions to adapt to changing priorities and environments while also capitalizing on internal expertise and resources. 

Panelists:  Darin Latimer, Vice President, Strategic Innovation, Danaher Corporation; Srinivas Veeramasuneni, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, USG Corporation; Moderator:  Carlton Gibbs, Senior Manager, Packaging Development, Global R&D, Mars-Wrigley Snacking 

Thought Leader Interview with Sheila Remes, Vice President, Environmental Sustainability, at The Boeing Company

With an organization of over 145,000 people and a product with over a 20 year lifespan, Boeing should not be able to change quickly. However, the drive for sustainability has brought the organization together to work toward industry-wide change. Learn from Sheila Remes, vice president, environmental sustainability, how Boeing has been able to bring together the many efforts on sustainability around the organization to drive toward cohesive goals. Sheila will also speak to how they’ve engaged customers and other stakeholders in their processes and how they approach the daunting task of doing a life cycle analysis on an airplane.

Sustainability Thought Leader Interview with Jeff Strahan, Director of Research, Compliance, and Sustainability at Milliken & Company

In this podcast, we explore Milliken's proactive response to the challenges posed by PFAS, from initial realization to strategic shifts in R&D and analytics. We delve into leadership alignment, communication with customers, and SAP-related challenges, concluding with an evaluation of the PFAS supply chain's reaction and Milliken's current status post-PFAS removal.

Learn how BASF stays at the forefront of digital innovation. Brian Standen gives highlights of their process, from identifying potential trends to placing bets on which technologies will have the most impact to incubating then rolling those technologies out more widely in the organization. He shares techniques for managing a portfolio of new technologies (Spoiler: Don’t be afraid to be bold.) and ways to get buy in from relevant parts of the organization.

Thought Leader Interview with Dan Abramowicz, CTO, and Alberto Rodriguez, Digital Optimization Team Leader at Crown Holdings, Inc.

Smart glasses enabled Crown Holdings to continue to carry out plant trials even in the face of a pandemic. However, as travel restrictions and social distancing measures have been dropped, so have the use cases for smart glasses. Learn about the areas in which Crown finds value in using smart glasses and how they plan to use them as the technology matures.

 

Get the full story of Crown’s use of smart glasses during the pandemic here.

Thought Leader Interview with Brandon Farris, Vice President of Energy and Resources Policy, National Association of Manufacturers

The global regulatory environment has become increasingly difficult for companies to track and understand. Listen to the NAM’s VP of energy and resources policy, Brandon Farris for a download on:

• PFAS;
• the power plants rule;
• the plastics draft strategy; and
• particulate matter.

Thought Leader Interview with Iria Giuffrida, William & Mary Law School

Gain an understanding of the key legal implications that innovators need to know as you integrate AI tools into your organization. Iria Giuffrida, Professor of the Practice of Law and Assistant Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs at William & Mary Law School, dives into key legal issues around AI, including:

• Copyright;
• Trade secrets;
• Patents;
• Privacy; and
• Regulations.

In this informative interview, she will also address the ethical issues around AI from both the macro (global) and micro (individual companies) perspective.

Integrating sustainability into all aspects of an organization is no small task. ICL galvanized their efforts by declaring 2022 to be the year of sustainability: holding activities, educating staff, and thinking about goals, both big and small and long and short term. Learn from Anantha Desikan, Executive Vice President and Chief Research, Development & Innovation Officer, how this helped ICL to integrate sustainability into their strategy and across their very diversified businesses.

Water cooler conversations have been virtually impossible (pun intended) for over three years now. But were they even an effective way to get your teams collaborating in the first place? Owens Corning looked at their successful ERP model and wondered how they could parlay that effective collaboration into other parts of the business, including new product development. Collaboration hubs are their answer. They are working to bring everyone and every project into a transparent system to enhance knowledge and collaboration. Pete Weddington, IT Director at Owens Corning, shares their work on this as well as other innovative approaches they are taking to getting the word out about new tools and systems.